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smell
[ smel ]
verb (used with object)
- to perceive the odor or scent of through the nose by means of the olfactory nerves; inhale the odor of:
I smell something burning.
- to test by the sense of smell:
She smelled the meat to see if it was fresh.
- to perceive, detect, or discover by shrewdness or sagacity:
The detective smelled foul play.
verb (used without object)
- to perceive something by its odor or scent.
- to search or investigate (followed by around or about ).
- to give off or have an odor or scent:
Do the yellow roses smell?
- to give out an offensive odor; stink.
- to have a particular odor (followed by of ):
My hands smell of fish.
- to have a trace or suggestion (followed by of ).
- Informal. to be of inferior quality; stink:
The play is good, but the direction smells.
- Informal. to have the appearance or a suggestion of guilt or corruption:
They may be honest, but the whole situation smells.
noun
- the sense of smell; faculty of smelling.
- the quality of a thing that is or may be smelled; odor; scent.
- a trace or suggestion.
- an act or instance of smelling.
- a pervading appearance, character, quality, or influence:
the smell of money.
verb phrase
- to look for or detect as if by smelling; search out:
to smell out enemy spies.
- to fill with an offensive odor; stink up:
The garbage smelled up the yard.
smell
/ ɛ /
verb
- tr to perceive the scent or odour of (a substance) by means of the olfactory nerves
- copula to have a specified smell; appear to the sense of smell to be
some tobacco smells very sweet
the beaches smell of seaweed
- introften foll byof to emit an odour (of)
the park smells of flowers
- intr to emit an unpleasant odour; stink
- troften foll byout to detect through shrewdness or instinct
- intr to have or use the sense of smell; sniff
- intrfoll byof to give indications (of)
he smells of money
- intr; foll by around, about, etc to search, investigate, or pry
- copula to be or seem to be untrustworthy or corrupt
- smell a ratto detect something suspicious
noun
- that sense (olfaction) by which scents or odours are perceived olfactory
- anything detected by the sense of smell; odour; scent
- a trace or indication
- the act or an instance of smelling
Derived Forms
- ˈ, noun
Other Word Forms
- a· adjective
- - adjective
- dzܳȴ verb (used with object) outsmelled or outsmelt outsmelling
- ܲ· adjective
- ܲ·iԲ adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of smell1
Word History and Origins
Origin of smell1
Idioms and Phrases
- smell a rat. rat ( def 6 ).
More idioms and phrases containing smell
- come up (smelling like) roses
- stink (smell) to high heaven
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Our kitchens used to smell like home — warm spices, olive oil, bread baking in the early afternoon.
After the trucks first arrived in January, there was a strong “burnt rubber” smell that eventually diminished but is still bothersome, she said.
"Of all dogs, that would be the last one I would say would survive out there, but they do have a good sense of smell," Mr Karran said.
It is not something I associate with any one person but rather with a particular time, this time, a certain kind of day, a specific smell in the air.
Francis — a pastor, pope, prophet, and friend who “smelled like his sheep” — taught us through example that working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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