Waft means to move gently through the air, usually describing how a smell, sound, or something light travels on a breeze. When fresh cookies are baking in the kitchen, their smell wafts through the house, floating from room to room and making everyone's mouth water. Smoke from a campfire wafts upward in curling ribbons. Music from a piano might waft through an open window on a summer evening.

The word suggests something pleasant and delicate drifting along, carried by air currents rather than moving forcefully. Autumn leaves waft to the ground, swaying and spinning rather than dropping straight down. The scent of flowers wafts across a garden. A waft of cool air might bring relief on a hot day.

You can also use waft as a noun: a sudden waft of perfume might announce someone's arrival before you even see them. The word captures that magical quality of things traveling invisibly through space, arriving softly rather than crashing in. When something wafts, it arrives with grace, floating rather than forcing its way into your awareness.