reek

American  

[reek] / rik /

noun

• reeks
  plural

1. a strong, unpleasant smell.

2. vapor or steam.

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verb (used without object)

• reeks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reeked,
  past participle,  past
• reeking
  present participle

1. to smell strongly and unpleasantly.

2. to be strongly pervaded with something unpleasant or offensive.

3. to give off steam, smoke, etc.

   Synonyms:

   fume, smoke, steam

4. to be wet with sweat, blood, etc.

verb (used with object)

• reeks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reeked,
  past participle,  past
• reeking
  present participle

1. to give off; emit; exude.

2. to expose to or treat with smoke.

reek British  

/ riːk /

verb

1. (intr) to give off or emit a strong unpleasant odour; smell or stink

2. to be permeated (by); be redolent (of)

   the letter reeks of subservience

3. (tr) to treat with smoke; fumigate

4. dialect (tr) to give off or emit (smoke, fumes, vapour, etc)

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noun

1. a strong offensive smell; stink

2. dialect smoke or steam; vapour

Usage

What’s the difference between reek and wreak? Reek most commonly means to give off a strong, unpleasant odor, as in Your socks reek, dude. Wreak means to inflict or carry out something, especially something harmful—it’s most commonly used in the phrase wreak havoc, meaning to cause chaos or destruction or both. While wreak is only ever used as a verb, reek can also be used as a noun meaning a strong, unpleasant smell, though this use is much less common. Reek usually functions without an object, though in some cases it is followed by the word of and the particular smell, as in It reeks of onions in here. This is also the case when reek is used in a more figurative way meaning to be penetrated or saturated with something negative, as in This case reeks of corruption. Wreak is always used with an object, usually some negative effect, as in The storm is expected to wreak destruction throughout the region. Reek and wreak are pronounced exactly the same, so it can be hard to remember which one is which, but you can remember that wreak begins with a w because it is often used in the context of things getting wrecked. Here’s an example of reek and wreak used correctly in the same sentence. Example: I like cooking with leeks, but my wife thinks they reek and says they wreak havoc on her ability to smell anything else. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between reeking and wreaking.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reeker
  noun
• reeking
  adjective
• reeky
  adjective
• reekingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reeks
  plural

Participles

• reeking
  present
• reeked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• reek
  simple
• reeks
  simple
• have reeked
  perfect
• has reeked
  perfect
• am reeking
  progressive
• are reeking
  progressive
• is reeking
  progressive
• have been reeking
  perfect progressive
• has been reeking
  perfect progressive

Past

• reeked
  simple
• had reeked
  perfect
• was reeking
  progressive
• were reeking
  progressive
• had been reeking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will reek
  simple
• will have reeked
  perfect
• will be reeking
  progressive
• will have been reeking
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of reek

before 900; (noun) Middle English rek ( e ), Old English rēc smoke; cognate with German rauch, Dutch rook, Old Norse reykr; (v.) Middle English reken to smoke, steam, Old English rēocan

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Explanation

It smells absolutely rotten and offensive. Birds are falling from the sky because of the fumes. You might throw up from one whiff. Whatever it is, it reeks. Shakespeare famously wrote about the "breath that from my mistress reeks," but that's not a nice way to talk about a girlfriend. The word usually describes smells, but can also be used to suggest something fishy, as in "the suspicious transactions reeked of mob involvement." But noses everywhere agree: Whether it's coming from your sneakers or from the aftermath of a shady deal, if something reeks — it stinks to high heaven.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reek reeks reeked reeking

No one has ever written an alternate history that didn’t reek of staginess, but Mr. Boyne’s cast comes coated with greasepaint.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Corpse flowers bloom for just 24 to 48 hours, and once opened, they reek of gym socks, rotten eggs and decaying flesh … or, well, a corpse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Disproportionate death sentences may be convincing to those who make clemency decisions, and they reek of unfairness.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026

In the movie, Charli contends with the unfathomable triumph of “Brat” while fielding brand deal offers and label demands that reek of the capitalist desperation to extend the “Brat” era as long as possible.

From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026

I reek by the time I land in Mexico, aggressively so.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

Volunteers and relatives of the victims rest under blankets tied to four poles driven into the rubble, which reeks of death.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

And when the wind whips, the air reeks of a potent campfire — but no campers are around.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

By leaving the couple of hours between posts “to me, reeks of some sort of impropriety,” Adami said.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026

Honestly, the whole discussion reeks of College Football Brain, that cross-affliction of entitlement and exceptionalism in which the most bizarre circumstances are treated as routine business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

“It reeks of mothballs and camphor and...squirrel. I like to have suffocated.”

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

He looked up to find the culprit: tree-shaped air fresheners that reeked of cheap cologne.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Others called for her to stay on in the US, with comments that reeked with sarcasm.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2025

It reeked of moisture, and she and her husband worried about raising young kids amid mold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024

It also reeked of “desperation,” per former federal prosecutor Harry Litman.

From Salon ● May 29, 2024

We were not allowed to step around them as the ranks were formed: often we stood in water up to our ankles, and at night the barracks reeked with rotting shoe leather.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Snake is a wonderfully pulpy, instantly iconic creation, an outcast adventurer reeking of sweat and post-Vietnam cynicism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

Fans have been speaking to BBC Sport to vent their frustration at the situation, with one saying: "Spurs now enter the final few weeks of the transfer window reeking of desperation."

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025

But this year, there have been more than a few complaints that the long-awaited year-end data dump was surprisingly "boring," and reeking of AI.

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2024

Far from the handsome man she has pictured, he struts in with an “air of cheap assurance” and flashes his trinkets, reeking of cheap cologne, hair coated in bear grease.

From Slate ● May 27, 2024

We lay back, struggling against the nausea that swept over us from the reeking straw.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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