olfactory
American
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
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 -tory 1
Explanation
Something olfactory has to do with the sense of smell. The odor from that factory is a symphony of olfactory delights. Not. Though we typically think of dogs as the olfactory champions of the world, what with their remarkable ability to sniff out practically anything, the true title belongs to the polar bear. Healthy, adult polar bears possess olfactory gifts that boggle the mind: they can smell a seal under the ice from over a kilometer away. One way to try to remember the meaning of the word olfactory is to think of factory. Your nose is the "factory" where odors are processed. What visual is to the eyes, olfactory is to the nose.
Vocabulary lists containing olfactory
Fahrenheit 451
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The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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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:
And there’s always the risk of olfactory overload.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Pigeons "have an extremely sophisticated olfactory system, so that they can smell grass seed when it's being sown," said Davis.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The olfactory bulb, located in the forebrain, processes signals from scent receptors in the nose.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2026
When I hear the word potluck, I am transported, with a kind of olfactory immediacy, to the basement of my grandmother’s church.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
It came to my olfactory sense, full and fresh, overwhelming: the smell of vegetation.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
“Thank God my moustache filters out some of the stench. My olfactories are already beginning to send out distress signals.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
To the olfactories," resumed the spirit, "the visitant was stifling.
From Toppleton's Client or, A Spirit in Exile by John Kendrick Bangs
This was attended with such good effects that, notwithstanding the place was still offensive to the olfactories, the managers concluded to open in it our first Sabbath-school.
From Cast Adrift by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur
Old sailors who have cruised with cargoes of cattle, of green hides, and of guano, say that nothing that ever offended the olfactories of man equals the stench of a right-whaler on her homeward voyage.
From American Merchant Ships and Sailors by Willis J. (Willis John) Abbot
He scented a trade afar off, and his organs of taste, sympathizing with his olfactories, gave out that token of satisfaction.
From The Continental Monthly , Vol. 2 No. 5, November 1862 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
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.
