odor

[ oh-der ]

noun

1. the property of a substance that activates the sense of smell:

   to have an unpleasant odor.

2. a sensation perceived by the sense of smell; scent.
3. an agreeable scent; fragrance.

   Synonyms: redolence, perfume, aroma

4. a disagreeable smell.
5. a quality or property characteristic or suggestive of something:

   An odor of suspicion surrounded his testimony.

6. repute:

   in bad odor with the whole community.

7. Archaic. something that has a pleasant scent.

odor

/ ˈəʊdə /

noun

1. the US spelling of odour

Derived Forms

• ˈodorless, adjective

Other Words From

• odor·ful adjective
• odor·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of odor¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

It might seem obvious, but it will clear out a lot of lingering odors.

From Popular-Science

They trained the mice so that the animals only licked a water spout when they “smelled” the artificial odor, generated by a light pattern and “unlikely to correspond to specific known chemical odorants” in nature, the team explained.

From Singularity Hub 

To make better sense of the data, the team then combined all their data into a mathematical model of our sense of odors.

From Singularity Hub 

The synthetic odor didn’t objectively exist, but the mice behaved as though they smelled it anyway, the researchers found.

From Science News

After “smelling” the synthetic odor, mice reliably licked the correct spout.

From Science News

They emit an odor that no human being should inhale, and yet you have.

From The Daily Beast

And, typing that, it occurs to me how rarely we hear modern Americans use the word happy without an odor of irony.

From The Daily Beast

When Sterling first bought the Ardmore, he remarked on its odor to Davenport.

From The Daily Beast

The odor wrenched the stomach and made one hesitant to breathe.

From The Daily Beast

I could forgive Christie for Bridgegate if he could just eliminate this odor.

From The Daily Beast

The fire crackled around the Dutch ovens, and the odor of coffee came floating by.

From Project Gutenberg

The odor of Seton's cheroot announced itself above the oriental perfume with which the place was laden.

From Project Gutenberg

A sour odor is normal for nursing infants, and is noted in mild diarrheas of older children.

From Project Gutenberg

These cigars are usually pressed, and burn well, leaving a dark-colored ash, and emitting a fragrant odor.

From Project Gutenberg

The late roses and white lilies were in full bloom, the latter filling the air with a sweet odor and making a lovely background.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• aroma
• flavor
• perfume
• smell
• stench
• stink
• whiff