scent

American  

[sent] / sɛnt /

noun

• scents
  plural

1. 

   a distinctive odor, especially when agreeable.

   the scent of roses.

2. an odor left in passing, by means of which an animal or person may be traced.

3. a track or trail as or as if indicated by such an odor.

   The dogs lost the scent and the prisoner escaped.

4. perfume.

5. the sense of smell.

   a remarkably keen scent.

6. small pieces of paper dropped by the hares in the game of hare and hounds.

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verb (used with object)

• scents,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scented,
  past participle,  past
• scenting
  present participle

1. to perceive or recognize by or as if by the sense of smell.

   to scent trouble.

   Synonyms:

   sniff, smell

2. to fill with an odor; perfume.

verb (used without object)

• scents,
  present (3rd person singular)
• scented,
  past participle,  past
• scenting
  present participle

1. to hunt by the sense of smell, as a hound.

scent British  

/ sɛnt /

noun

1. a distinctive smell, esp a pleasant one

2. a smell left in passing, by which a person or animal may be traced

3. a trail, clue, or guide

4. an instinctive ability for finding out or detecting

5. another word (esp Brit) for perfume

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verb

1. (tr) to recognize or be aware of by or as if by the smell

2. (tr) to have a suspicion of; detect

   I scent foul play

3. (tr) to fill with odour or fragrance

4. (intr) (of hounds, etc) to hunt by the sense of smell

5. to smell (at)

   the dog scented the air

scent Idioms  

1. see throw off, def. 3.

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Synonym Usage

See odor.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• scentlessness
  noun
• outscent
  verb (used with object)
• nonscented
  adjective
• overscented
  adjective
• scented
  adjective
• scentless
  adjective
• unscented
  adjective
• well-scented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scents
  plural

Participles

• scenting
  present
• scented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• scent
  simple
• scents
  simple
• have scented
  perfect
• has scented
  perfect
• am scenting
  progressive
• are scenting
  progressive
• is scenting
  progressive
• have been scenting
  perfect progressive
• has been scenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• scented
  simple
• had scented
  perfect
• was scenting
  progressive
• were scenting
  progressive
• had been scenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will scent
  simple
• will have scented
  perfect
• will be scenting
  progressive
• will have been scenting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of scent

First recorded in 1325–75; (verb) earlier sent, Middle English senten, from Middle French sentir “to smell,” from Latin sentīre, “to feel”; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the verb Cf. sense

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Explanation

A scent is a smell. Every house has a particular scent that is recognizable to people as belonging to that house. Scent comes from the Latin sentire meaning "to feel, perceive, sense." The word was originally used in reference to hunting dogs, who track down animals by their scent. If you "pick up a scent," then you have a clue about something. If you wear a perfume, then you leave your scent in the air as you pass. Use scent instead of smell if you want to talk about a distinctively nice odor, like the scent of fresh-cut grass.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scent scents scented scenting

"When you catch the scent of the truffle, when the dog starts digging, and he plants himself there and doesn't give up... it gives you goosebumps."

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

You can’t help but pull over and wander through the scratch-and-sniff trees, their bark releasing the scent of vanilla and butterscotch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Unilever introduced a fragrance with the scent of its Original Beauty Bar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Dogs' scent detection skills are often used in conservation work on land, including tracking endangered species and helping investigate environmental crime.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Light floods into the small space on the sour scent of cigar.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

In Yopougon, stores offer coffins, funeral clothing, artificial flowers, headstones, jewellery and scents for perfuming the dead.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

In this way, “bee smell is converted into human sight, and scents too subtle for human noses are made visible to the eye.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The conflict highlights an emerging debate about synthetic scents: Many hotels use them, but some sensitive guests consider those aromas as welcome as secondhand smoke.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

That pattern suggests that cats may retain long-term memories of particular urine scents.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Nights, wild sunflowers in the vacant lot close up, scents of chicken and collards blow through kitchen windows.

From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Routine tasks such as mopping floors, spraying countertops, and wiping surfaces with scented products generate billions or trillions of particles, with the total depending on the product.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Delicious food — Jamaican patties, raspberry tarts, Nigerian-style goat, salmon tamales — scented the streets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

However, listing images of the property show that it is now completely empty—with not a single Juicy Couture sweatsuit or scented candle in sight, suggesting that Madison has vacated the home completely.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

The beds are dotted with scented flowers such as honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender, and textured foliage and grasses that patients can touch and smell from their beds.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

The furniture seemed too small for them—the room seemed too small for them—and they scented the air with old cigars, starch, and sweat.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

The Japanese accomplish subtle scenting with nioi-bukuro, breathable sachets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

Now Ahab inhales deeply, scenting in the salt air the presence of his nemesis.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

Signs that your feline friend is bonded to you include scenting by rubbing their head on you, showing their belly, blinking and letting you get close.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 21, 2022

In the summer, the hardliners struck, scenting weakness in a man now abandoned by many liberal allies.

From Reuters ● Aug. 30, 2022

I tromped into the underbrush like a bloodhound scenting an invisible trail.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

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