reek

[ reek ]

/ rik /

noun

a strong, unpleasant smell.

vapor or steam.

verb (used without object)

to smell strongly and unpleasantly.

to be strongly pervaded with something unpleasant or offensive.

to give off steam, smoke, etc.

to be wet with sweat, blood, etc.

verb (used with object)

to give off; emit; exude.

to expose to or treat with smoke.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR reek

5. steam, smoke, fume.

Related formsreek·er, nounreek·ing·ly, adverbreek·y, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for reeks

Nolte's Breitbart report on Dunham's "Barry" reeks of obliviousness.
The Right's Rape Trolls vs. Lena Dunham|Emily Shire|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, the Sooner State has lately taken pride in pushing back against anything that reeks of progressive-ness.
Solar Power Burns Old Utilities’ Business Models|Daniel Gross|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is the kind of weak language that reeks of State Department memo writing and should never be uttered in public.
President Obama’s Belgian Waffle|Stuart Stevens|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It reeks of desperation and signals an inability to come to grips with modernity.
The GOP’s Racial Handicap|Lloyd Green|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

It reeks of Stockholm syndrome—Romney seems to think his captors are his friends.
Mitt Romney’s Stockholm Syndrome Behavior|John Avlon|May 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
"A singular room," he observed to Reeks, on concluding his survey.
Auriol|W. Harrison Ainsworth
It is thoroughly Irish; and reeks of the native soil and its people, wherein is its value to the traveller.
Romantic Ireland; volume 2/2|M.F and B. McM. Mansfield
The distant Reeks showed their clear summits in sharp outline, pointing to the summer sky.
An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800|Mary Frances Cusack
Wot's that you say about subterranean apartments, Mr. Reeks?
Auriol|W. Harrison Ainsworth
The Englishman vows the Italian reeks with the scent of garlic.
On the Mexican Highlands|William Seymour Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for reeks

reek

/ (riːk) /

verb

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

(intr often foll by of) to be permeated (by); be redolent (of)the letter reeks of subservience

(tr) to treat with smoke; fumigate

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

noun

a strong offensive smell; stink

mainly dialect smoke or steam; vapour

Derived Formsreeking, adjectivereekingly, adverbreeky, adjective

Word Origin for reek

Old English rēocan; related to Old Frisian riāka to smoke, Old High German rouhhan, Old Norse rjūka to smoke, steam

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

Word Origin and History for reeks

reek

Old English recan (Anglian), reocan (West Saxon) "emit smoke," from Proto-Germanic *reukanan (cf. Old Frisian reka "smoke," Middle Dutch roken, Dutch rieken "to smoke," Old High German riohhan "to smoke, steam," German rauchen "to smoke," riechen "to smell").

Originally a strong verb, with past tense reac, past participle gereocen, but occasionally showing weak conjugation in Old English. Meaning "to emit smoke;" meaning "to emit a bad smell" is recorded from 1710 via sense "be heated and perspiring" (early 15c.). Related: Reeked; reeking.

reek

Old English rec (Anglian), riec (West Saxon), "smoke from burning material," probably from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse reykr, Danish rǿg, Swedish rök "smoke, steam," from Proto-Germanic *raukiz (cf. Old Frisian rek, Middle Dutch rooc, Old High German rouh, German Rauch "smoke, steam"), from PIE *reug- "to vomit, belch;" also "smoke, cloud." Sense of "stench" is attested 1650s, via the notion of "that which rises" (cf. reek (v.)).

reek

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

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Origin of reek

Examples from the Web for reeks

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noun

Word Origin for reek

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