olfaction
Americannoun
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the act of smelling.
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the sense of smell.
noun
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the sense of smell
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the act or function of smelling
Etymology
Origin of olfaction
1840–50; < Latin olfact ( us ) past participle of olfacere to smell ( see olfactory) + -ion
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.
Bates said many discoveries from fruit fly neuroscience have carried over from invertebrates to mammals, including findings related to navigation, olfaction, and memory.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
Some research suggests that “olfactory training” — practicing to improve your olfaction, or sense of smell — can actually improve your cognitive abilities.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025
They found that through olfactory training, people with smell loss and people with normal olfaction alike can achieve increases in the size or volume of the olfactory bulb and hippocampus.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2025
The interdisciplinary group of experts in olfaction, psychology, ecology, public health, atmospheric science and other fields are based at institutions in the U.S., the U.K.,
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
The theories to explain olfaction are as numerous and complex as those for immunologic sensing.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
