reek
a strong, unpleasant smell.
vapor or steam.
to smell strongly and unpleasantly.
to be strongly pervaded with something unpleasant or offensive.
to give off steam, smoke, etc.
to be wet with sweat, blood, etc.
to give off; emit; exude.
to expose to or treat with smoke.
Origin of reek
1Other words for reek
Other words from reek
- reeker, noun
- reek·ing·ly, adverb
- reeky, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use reek in a sentence
Few bragged about online dating, often keeping the whole ordeal secret, as it reeked of dating desperation.
Swipe Right For Sex: Mixxxer Is Tinder for the Porn Star Set | Aurora Snow | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs if, after all the above, one would want anything that reeked of lifeless imitation.
How Horst Captured Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, and Vivien Leigh—and Changed Fashion Photography | Patrick Strudwick | September 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMaziar was thrown in jail and brutalized for months by an interrogator who reeked of rosewater cologne.
A genuinely transgressive art moment reeked of elementary school art project.
And a government department selecting companies for grants reeked of "picking winners and losers," another red flag.
The atmosphere, which but a few moments ago reeked with heat, took on a grave-like chill.
A Lost Hero | Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward and Herbert D. WardIt reeked with stale tobacco-smoke, the smell of cookery, and the odors of frowsy clothes.
The Gold Trail | Harold BindlossAt last the town absolutely reeked with wickedness—so says the highly moral legend.
The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. SalmonMy clothes, my room, even the skin of my body, soon reeked with the faint yet penetrating odour of stable and barn.
Tramping on Life | Harry KempIt had vanished, and the room reeked with the fumes of a very flagrant distillation of French brandy.
Where the Pavement Ends | John Russell
British Dictionary definitions for reek
/ (riːk) /
(intr) to give off or emit a strong unpleasant odour; smell or stink
(intr often foll by of) to be permeated (by); be redolent (of): the letter reeks of subservience
(tr) to treat with smoke; fumigate
(tr) mainly dialect to give off or emit (smoke, fumes, vapour, etc)
a strong offensive smell; stink
mainly dialect smoke or steam; vapour
Origin of reek
1Derived forms of reek
- reeking, adjective
- reekingly, adverb
- reeky, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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