odour

[oh-der]

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a variant of odor.

odour

/ ˈəʊdə /

noun

1. the property of a substance that gives it a characteristic scent or smell

2. a pervasive quality about something

   an odour of dishonesty

3. repute or regard (in the phrases in good odour, in bad odour )

Other Word Forms

• odourless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of odour¹

C13: from Old French odur, from Latin odor; related to Latin olēre to smell, Greek ōzein

Example Sentences

Almost every household has at least one pair of shoes whose odour is impossible to ignore.

From BBC

Leakage worries are normal but Dr Tempest says they are reliable for most people and have a built-in waterproof layer and odour lining.

From BBC

Its spokesman said monthly off-site odour assessments conducted between January and July 2025 "did not detect any odours attributable to the licenced waste facility".

From BBC

The Environment Agency urged anyone who "notices any unusual smells or odours that concern them" to report them.

From BBC

The study by Tokyo University of Agriculture found cats spent significantly longer sniffing tubes containing the odours of unknown people compared to tubes containing their owner's smell.

From BBC