1
a pinch of snuff
作名词时，snuff 通常指鼻烟，属不可数名词；表示“一撮”用 a pinch of。
He took a pinch of snuff and sneezed.
他吸了一小撮鼻烟，打了个喷嚏。
鼻烟；一撮鼻烟
snuffs — plural of snuff
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
鼻烟；一撮鼻烟
finely powdered tobacco for sniffing up the nose; a pinch of such tobacco
He took a pinch of snuff and sneezed.
他吸了一小撮鼻烟，打了个喷嚏。
供鼻吸用的细磨或粉化的烟草(或其他植物衍生物)。
Finely ground or pulverized tobacco (or other plant derivative) intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.
烛芯燃烧的部分或烧焦的残余。
The burning part of a candle wick, or the black, burnt remains of a wick (which must be periodically removed).
干或湿的细磨或切碎烟草,置于唇后或舌下使用。
Fine-ground or minced tobacco, dry or moistened, intended for use by placing a pinch behind the lip or beneath the tongue.
对细磨粉末状烟草的一吸或一嗅。
A snort or sniff of fine-ground, powdered, or pulverized tobacco.
He took a pinch of snuff from a small silver box.
他从一个小银盒里取了一撮鼻烟。
She offered me some snuff, but I didn't know how to use it.
她递给我一些鼻烟，但我不知道该怎么用。
The shop sells different kinds of snuff, including menthol and floral flavors.
这家店出售不同种类的鼻烟，包括薄荷味和花香味的。
作名词时，snuff 通常指鼻烟，属不可数名词；表示“一撮”用 a pinch of。
He took a pinch of snuff and sneezed.
他吸了一小撮鼻烟，打了个喷嚏。
作动词时，snuff out 是及物短语动词，可指“掐灭、扑灭”，也可比喻“扼杀、消灭”；代词宾语须放在 out 前，如 snuff it out。
She snuffed out the candle before leaving.
她离开前把蜡烛掐灭了。
作不及物动词时，snuff at sth 常用于动物凑近某物嗅闻；表示人“闻”更常用 sniff。
The dog snuffed at the backpack on the floor.
狗嗅了嗅地板上的背包。
Not this
He smokes snuff every morning before breakfast.
Use this
He takes snuff every morning before breakfast.
snuff 是无烟烟草，靠鼻子吸入而不是点燃抽吸；中文的“吸鼻烟”直译成 smoke snuff 不符合英语搭配，英语习惯说 take snuff（或用 use snuff）。
Not this
She took a snuff of the milk to check if it was sour.
Use this
She took a sniff of the milk to check if it was sour.
snuff 和 sniff 容易因中文都译作“闻/用鼻吸气”而混淆；但 snuff 作名词指鼻烟、烛花，表示“闻一下”这个动作的名词是 sniff，所以要用 take a sniff。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
掐灭；扑灭；消灭
She snuffed out the candle before leaving the room.
她离开房间前掐灭了蜡烛。
吸鼻烟
He used to take snuff after dinner.
他过去常在晚餐后吸鼻烟。
一撮鼻烟
He offered me a pinch of snuff.
他递给我一撮鼻烟。
鼻烟盒
She keeps her snuff box on the mantelpiece.
她把鼻烟盒放在壁炉架上。
达到标准，符合要求
The report wasn't up to snuff, so I had to rewrite it.
这份报告没有达到标准，所以我不得不重写。
死，一命呜呼
He nearly snuffed it when he fell off the ladder.
他从梯子上摔下来，差点就没命了。
扼杀，消灭，熄灭
The dictator tried to snuff out all opposition.
独裁者试图扼杀一切反对意见。
Use snuffs naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把sniff（闻）的i换成u，变成snuff：用力一吸鼻烟，再顺手掐灭烛花。
语域：neutral 常见场景：historical fiction、museum exhibits、antique collecting 这里指“鼻烟”这一含义，多用于历史、文学或旧物收藏等语境，语气中性但略显老派；现代日常口语中比较少见单独使用。
这些词都与 snuff /snʌf/ 押韵，重读元音及后面的辅音都是 /ʌf/。注意 rough、tough、enough 拼写含 -ough 却读作 /ʌf/；另外像 sniff /snɪf/ 这类拼写相似的词发音不同，并非真正的韵词。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.