stench
Americannoun
-
an offensive smell or odor; stink.
-
a foul quality.
noun
Related Words
See odor.
Other Word Forms
- stenchful adjective
Etymology
Origin of stench
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English stenc “odor (good or bad)”; akin to stink
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Neighbors complained for years about the stench and constant barking.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026
In drought-hit northeastern Kenya, villagers have been forced to drag their dead livestock to distant fields for burning to keep the stench of death and scavenging hyenas away from their homes.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
In the open sewer outside, plastic bags and bottles drift through charcoal-grey sludge, its stench thick in the air.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2025
Chu’s sequel is rotten with the stench of voracious greed, as much of a pre-packaged, ready-to-sell commodity as the “Angry Birds” or “Super Mario Bros.” movies.
From Salon • Nov. 21, 2025
Every time they had passed in the hall, she had tensed visibly, wrinkling her nose as though he’d carried a terrible stench with him.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
