reek

[ reek ]
See synonyms for reek on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a strong, unpleasant smell.

  2. vapor or steam.

verb (used without object)
  1. to smell strongly and unpleasantly.

  2. to be strongly pervaded with something unpleasant or offensive.

  1. to give off steam, smoke, etc.

  2. to be wet with sweat, blood, etc.

verb (used with object)
  1. to give off; emit; exude.

  2. to expose to or treat with smoke.

Origin of reek

1
before 900; (noun) Middle English rek(e), Old English rēc smoke; cognate with German rauch,Dutch rook,Old Norse reykr; (v.) Middle English reken to smoke, steam, Old English rēocan

Other 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

  • 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. Ward
  • It reeked with stale tobacco-smoke, the smell of cookery, and the odors of frowsy clothes.

    The Gold Trail | Harold Bindloss
  • At last the town absolutely reeked with wickedness—so says the highly moral legend.

    The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon
  • My 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 Kemp
  • It had vanished, and the room reeked with the fumes of a very flagrant distillation of French brandy.

British Dictionary definitions for reek

reek

/ (riːk) /


verb
  1. (intr) to give off or emit a strong unpleasant odour; smell or stink

  2. (intr often foll by of) to be permeated (by); be redolent (of): the letter reeks of subservience

  1. (tr) to treat with smoke; fumigate

  2. (tr) mainly dialect to give off or emit (smoke, fumes, vapour, etc)

noun
  1. a strong offensive smell; stink

  2. mainly dialect smoke or steam; vapour

Origin of reek

1
Old English rēocan; related to Old Frisian riāka to smoke, Old High German rouhhan, Old Norse rjūka to smoke, steam

Derived 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