rancid
Americanadjective
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having a rank, unpleasant, stale smell or taste, as through decomposition, especially of fats or oils.
rancid butter.
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(of an odor or taste) rank, unpleasant, and stale.
a rancid smell.
-
offensive or nasty; disagreeable.
adjective
-
(of butter, bacon, etc) having an unpleasant stale taste or smell as the result of decomposition
-
(of a taste or smell) rank or sour; stale
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rancid
1640–50; < Latin rancidus rank, stinking, equivalent to ranc ( ēre ) to be rotten + -idus -id 4
Explanation
Rancid means sour, rotten, and nasty and refers most specifically to the sharp bad smell of decomposing oils or fats. "Rancid" is a great name for a post-punk band, but a lousy way to describe the sauce on your eggs Benedict. If you've never had the pleasure of smelling something rancid, life has quite a wallop in store for you. As meat, fat, or oil decomposes the chemical change creates a sharp wretched stink that will cause you to recoil. It's just foul. The powerful horrendous fragrance of rancid butter, therefore, makes the word wonderfully potent to describe all sorts of things — from a corrupt dictatorship to a party that's gone on a few hours too long.
Vocabulary lists containing rancid
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Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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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.
In the first days after the fire, officials raised concerns that the unrefrigerated food might become so rancid as to create a biohazard risk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Milk, for example, would be mixed with formaldehyde to sweeten it when it went rancid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Antioxidant preservatives serve a different purpose, helping to prevent oxidation so foods do not become brown or rancid.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
As Nolso opens the door, a rancid odour escaped.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
Half an hour later I stood on the stairway outside Devi’s door, trying to ignore the rancid smell of the butcher’s shop below.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
