olfactory

[ ol-fak-tuh-ree, -tree, ohl- ]

/ ɒlˈfæk tə ri, -tri, oʊl- /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for olfactory on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or relating to the sense of smell: olfactory organs.

noun, plural ol·fac·to·ries.

Usually olfactories. an olfactory organ.

olfactory nerve.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of olfactory

1650–60; <Latin olfactōrius, equivalent to olfac(ere) to smell at, sniff (ol(ēre) to smell (akin to odor) + facere to make, do) + -tōrius-tory¹

OTHER WORDS FROM olfactory

ol·fac·to·ri·ly, adverbnon·ol·fac·to·ry, adjective, noun, plural non·ol·fac·to·ries.

Words nearby olfactory

O level, oleyl alcohol, olfaction, olfactometer, olfactometry, olfactory, olfactory bulb, olfactory lobe, olfactory nerve, olfactory tract, OLG

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use olfactory in a sentence

The brain, drawing on memory, recognizes patterns in the chemical composition of the olfactory stimulus.
Our Mind-Boggling Sense of Smell - Issue 91: The Amazing Brain|Ann-Sophie Barwich|October 14, 2020|Nautilus
As I explain in the episode, the olfactory explanation doesn’t actually pass the sniff test—which led me to wonder why a particular vehicle might experience widespread yellow sac infestations.
Your car is probably full of spiders|PopSci Staff|September 2, 2020|Popular-Science
While linearity doesn’t mean the olfactory code is easily solvable, it does provide a framework for neuroscientists to further work on and potentially more easily understand.
A Highway to Smell: How Scientists Used Light to Incept Smell in Mice|Shelly Fan|July 1, 2020|Singularity Hub
Neuroscientist Dima Rinberg of New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine and colleagues targeted nerve cells in mice’s olfactory bulbs.
How to make a mouse smell a smell that doesn’t actually exist|Laura Sanders|June 18, 2020|Science News

That’s because, as far as neurons go, olfactory receptor neurons are unusual — they live outside of the brain, but keep one foot inside it.
The way the coronavirus messes with smell hints at how it affects the brain|Laura Sanders|June 12, 2020|Science News
Olfactory art, Burr admits, has been “completely and aggressively and successfully colonized by commercial interests.”
NY Museum Stages First ‘Scent’ Exhibit|Blake Gopnik|November 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And then there are all the “olfactory landmarks” that live with us day to day, in laundry soaps and baby powder and new cars.
NY Museum Stages First ‘Scent’ Exhibit|Blake Gopnik|November 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Our olfactory systems have long regarded pungency as not just innocuous but in fact pleasing.
Why We Love Stinky Cheese|Stacey Slate|January 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It was now acting and re-acting on the lining of the serenader's olfactory organ in a manner to threaten final decapitation.
Flamsted quarries|Mary E. Waller
Some collectors, with indifferent olfactory sense, moisten the cork of their boxes with creosote.
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects|C. V. Riley
This may perhaps be called the olfactory nerve, though clearly of a different character to the other nerves.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
The anterior and larger division of the fore-brain forms the rudiment of the cerebral hemispheres and olfactory lobes.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour
On the ventral face of the integument covering these are two oval depressions, the rudimentary olfactory sacs.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1|Francis Maitland Balfour

British Dictionary definitions for olfactory

olfactory

/ (ɒlˈfæktərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of or relating to the sense of smell

noun plural -ries

(usually plural) an organ or nerve concerned with the sense of smell

Word Origin for olfactory

C17: from Latin olfactus, past participle of olfacere, from olere to smell + facere to make

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

Scientific definitions for olfactory

olfactory

[ ŏl-făk′tə-rē, ōl- ]

Relating to or involving the organs or sense of smell.

Cultural definitions for olfactory

olfactory

[ (ol-fak-tuh-ree, ohl-fak-tuh-ree) ]

A descriptive term for the sense of smell.

olfactory

Origin of olfactory

OTHER WORDS FROM olfactory

Words nearby olfactory

Words related to olfactory

How to use olfactory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for olfactory

Word Origin for olfactory

Scientific definitions for olfactory

Cultural definitions for olfactory