scent
a distinctive odor, especially when agreeable: the scent of roses.
an odor left in passing, by means of which an animal or person may be traced.
a track or trail as or as if indicated by such an odor: The dogs lost the scent and the prisoner escaped.
the sense of smell: a remarkably keen scent.
small pieces of paper dropped by the hares in the game of hare and hounds.
to perceive or recognize by or as if by the sense of smell: to scent trouble.
to fill with an odor; perfume.
to hunt by the sense of smell, as a hound.
Origin of scent
1synonym study For scent
Other words for scent
Other words from scent
- scentless, adjective
- scent·less·ness, noun
- non·scent·ed, adjective
- outscent, verb (used with object)
- o·ver·scent·ed, adjective
- un·scent·ed, adjective
- well-scented, adjective
Words that may be confused with scent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use scent in a sentence
Los Angeles was wonderfully exotic; a polyglot mix of Aztec, Incan, Mayan and New World scents and sounds.
The loftiest noses among the winemakers inhale the finest of scents from the tasting glass and proclaim another masterpiece.
Napa’s Earthquake Is Not The Only Thing Shaking The Vineyards | Clive Irving | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat struck me immediately was the lack of discernable scents.
Visiting the Arctic Circle…Before It’s Irreversibly Changed | Terry Greene Sterling | April 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHave you noticed the spicy scents emanating from a lot of baby name lists and announcements?
Hot Baby Names for 2014 | Linda Rosenkrantz & Pamela Redmond Satran | December 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTScents can be discussed, I feel sure, as though humans had only ever known the world through their noses.
Some varieties of snuff were named after the scents employed in flavoring them.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Sad faery blossoms secret scents distil In trackless solitudes; nor ever will The lone anemone her lover find!
Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile GautierThe same scents may also be used for pomatum, which should be made of perfectly pure lard, or marrow.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyA pleasant morning collecting flowers, not a great variety but some delicious honey scents and an occasional cheerful blue poppy.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 | Charles Kenneth Howard-BuryGreta remained sitting where she was, shivering violently, as a little animal shivers when it scents danger.
Villa Rubein and Other Stories | John Galsworthy
British Dictionary definitions for scent
/ (sɛnt) /
a distinctive smell, esp a pleasant one
a smell left in passing, by which a person or animal may be traced
a trail, clue, or guide
an instinctive ability for finding out or detecting
another word (esp Brit) for perfume
(tr) to recognize or be aware of by or as if by the smell
(tr) to have a suspicion of; detect: I scent foul play
(tr) to fill with odour or fragrance
(intr) (of hounds, etc) to hunt by the sense of smell
to smell (at): the dog scented the air
Origin of scent
1Derived forms of scent
- scented, adjective
- scentless, adjective
- scentlessness, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with scent
see throw off, def. 3.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse