stench
Americannoun
-
an offensive smell or odor; stink.
-
a foul quality.
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Related 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.
In the open sewer outside, plastic bags and bottles drift through charcoal-grey sludge, its stench thick in the air.
From BBC
My class was on a field trip to a wastewater treatment plant and while everyone around me was disgusted by the stench, I had no problem with it whatsoever.
From Scientific American
The worst part, he said, was the stench of tear gas.
From Los Angeles Times
The stench of corruption — even as Sidhu denied the allegation — rendered the deal too toxic to proceed.
From Los Angeles Times
The name alone - "Fishrot" - conjures up the unpleasant stench of corruption.
From BBC
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.
