odor
Americannoun
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odors
plural
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the property of a substance that activates the sense of smell.
to have an unpleasant odor.
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a sensation perceived by the sense of smell; scent.
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an agreeable scent; fragrance.
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a disagreeable smell.
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a quality or property characteristic or suggestive of something.
An odor of suspicion surrounded his testimony.
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repute.
in bad odor with the whole community.
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Archaic. something that has a pleasant scent.
noun
Synonym Usage
Odor, smell, scent, stench all refer to sensations perceived through the nose by the olfactory nerves. Odor and smell in literal contexts are often interchangeable. Figuratively, odor also usually occurs in positive contexts: the odor of sanctity. Smell is the most general and neutral of these two terms, deriving connotation generally from the context in which it is used: the tempting smell of fresh-baked bread; the rank smell of rotting vegetation. In figurative contexts smell may be either positive or negative: the sweet smell of success; a strong smell of duplicity pervading the affair. Scent refers either to delicate and pleasing aromas or to faint, barely perceptible smells: the scent of lilacs on the soft spring breeze; deer alarmed by the scent of man. Stench is strongly negative, referring both literally and figuratively to what is foul, sickening, or repulsive: the stench of rotting flesh; steeped in the stench of iniquity and treason.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of odor
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin
Explanation
An odor is anything you can smell — like a scent or an aroma. If you sniff a sour odor in your gallon of milk, you should probably pour it down the sink instead of drinking it. Most people are more likely to use the word odor for unpleasant smells, like the odor of your uncle's stinky cigars or the musty odor in your grandmother's attic. You can also use the word odor in a figurative way, to mean a feeling or impression given by something: "The whole bank seemed full of the odor of money and greed." Odor is Latin, meaning "a smell or a scent."
Vocabulary lists containing odor
"Dogs at Work"
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4-letter words, List 1
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 7
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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.
See Examples For:
"A person likely needs to find the odor familiar and appealing - or at least not repulsive - to trigger the psychological shift in appetite that's needed to see a performance boost."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
"Sniffing a 90% dark chocolate odor added about 18 more repetitions to participants' leg extensions, while a 60% milk chocolate odor added about nine repetitions compared to the water control," said Nashrudin Naharudin.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Lyft told its drivers in December to open windows or use odor absorbers instead of fragrances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“I saw thick smoke and smelled a strong odor of gunpowder,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“A burnt-wood odor hung in the air,” Buzz remembered.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Mbarak fears that view may soon be blemished by passing oil tankers, and the breeze could carry industrial odors from the refinery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Remarkably, cats continued to show reduced responses to previously encountered urine odors even after gaps lasting months.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
The move came after pilots said they had repeatedly noticed odors in the aircraft associated with suspected toxic fume events and had experienced migraines while flying the planes, according to people familiar with the decision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
He said the company was spending $1 million a day to get rid of the food, haul it to landfills and tamp down odors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Better the car, though, than the house, which he now understood to be Theresa’s house, full of cat odors and cat hairs.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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