reek
Americannoun
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a strong, unpleasant smell.
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vapor or steam.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to give off; emit; exude.
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to expose to or treat with smoke.
verb
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(intr) to give off or emit a strong unpleasant odour; smell or stink
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to be permeated (by); be redolent (of)
the letter reeks of subservience
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(tr) to treat with smoke; fumigate
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dialect (tr) to give off or emit (smoke, fumes, vapour, etc)
noun
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a strong offensive smell; stink
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reeksimple
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reekssimple
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have reekedperfect
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has reekedperfect
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am reekingprogressive
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are reekingprogressive
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is reekingprogressive
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have been reekingperfect progressive
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has been reekingperfect progressive
Past
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reekedsimple
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had reekedperfect
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was reekingprogressive
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were reekingprogressive
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had been reekingperfect progressive
Future
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing reek
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Something Smells: From "Malodorous" to "Mephitic" to "It Reeks!"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Smell Words
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Disproportionate death sentences may be convincing to those who make clemency decisions, and they reek of unfairness.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
If that doesn’t reek of a corporate attempt to get people hooked, I don’t know what does.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2025
So the two embarked on a survey in the university hostels asking a truly human question: if our sneakers reek, doesn't that ruin the entire experience of using a shoe rack?
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
Grand juries may not go along with prosecutions that reek of vengeance, and trial juries and judges are more likely to resist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024
Every time she’d visited Bellhaven for a mission, the reek of fish made her gag if she got too near the docks.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
The shelter in the town hall car park has excrement smeared on the floor and reeks of urine.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
While the bots are getting slightly better at mimicking human cadences, AI-generated writing still reeks of the sterile laboratory where it originates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
By leaving the couple of hours between posts “to me, reeks of some sort of impropriety,” Adami said.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 8, 2026
The kind that reeks of washed rinds, that crunches with tyrosine crystals, that bears the name of a tiny European village in delicate, old-world type.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2025
The place already reeks like sunscreen and burning charcoal, even though it’s barely nine o’clock.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
It was filthy, reeked of paint, and had no kitchen, mattresses, or water.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2024
It also reeked of “desperation,” per former federal prosecutor Harry Litman.
From Salon ● May 29, 2024
“I grew up,” said Patricia Majluf, a biologist and senior scientist at Oceana Peru, “in a city that reeked of fish meal.”
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2024
On Wednesday, the 34-year-old said their home, like many, reeked of sewage and mold; she wasn’t sure it would ever be livable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
Mr. and Mrs. Glass’s bedroom reeked, and even smarted, of freshly painted walls.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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
“Oh hell. Alright. Jees . . .” Bloom put a raincoat on over his pajamas, shoved his feet into some mud-encrusted irrigation boots, and followed their reeking little entourage around the house.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
