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:
The Americans, in turn, claimed to be able to identify the enemy by the distinctive odor of nuoc mam, the fermented-fish condiment that is a staple of Vietnamese cooking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Many odor molecules evaporate, break down, or change with time.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 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
“I saw thick smoke and smelled a strong odor of gunpowder,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
When they weren’t frightened, screechers still had an odor about them.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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
Even among those who did, many blamed the epidemic on miasma—conditions attributed to odors, stagnant water or unseen particles in the atmosphere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
And, Jurado said, “it does not erase two months of odors, pests, and disruption.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Petrol, raw fish, and stale sweat dominated a battle of odors for the stuffy space.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
