smell

[ smel ]

/ smɛl /

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See synonyms for: smell / smelled / smelling / smells on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), smelled or smelt, smell·ing.

to perceive the odor or scent of through the nose by means of the olfactory nerves; inhale the odor of: I smell something burning.

to test by the sense of smell: She smelled the meat to see if it was fresh.

to perceive, detect, or discover by shrewdness or sagacity: The detective smelled foul play.

verb (used without object), smelled or smelt, smell·ing.

to perceive something by its odor or scent.

to search or investigate (followed by around or about).

to give off or have an odor or scent: Do the yellow roses smell?

to give out an offensive odor; stink.

to have a particular odor (followed by of): My hands smell of fish.

to have a trace or suggestion (followed by of).

Informal. to be of inferior quality; stink: The play is good, but the direction smells.

Informal. to have the appearance or a suggestion of guilt or corruption: They may be honest, but the whole situation smells.

noun

the sense of smell; faculty of smelling.

the quality of a thing that is or may be smelled; odor; scent.

a trace or suggestion.

an act or instance of smelling.

a pervading appearance, character, quality, or influence: the smell of money.

Verb Phrases

smell out, to look for or detect as if by smelling; search out: to smell out enemy spies.

smell up, to fill with an offensive odor; stink up: The garbage smelled up the yard.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about smell

smell a rat. rat (def. 6).

Origin of smell

First recorded in 1125–75; early Middle English smell, smull (noun), smellen,smullen (verb); origin uncertain.

synonym study for smell

13. See odor.

OTHER WORDS FROM smell

smell·a·ble, adjectivesmell-less, adjectiveoutsmell, verb (used with object), out·smelled or out·smelt, out·smel·ling.un·smelled, adjective

un·smell·ing, adjective

Words nearby smell

smectite, smeddum, Smedley, smeech, smegma, smell, smell a rat, smeller, smell fishy, smellies, smelling bottle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smell in a sentence

“If there’s smell, it means that somehow air has been transported to where it shouldn’t go,” Morawska said in an interview.
Scientists found coronavirus in a long-vacant apartment. A possible spreader? ‘Fecal aerosol plumes’|Claire Zillman, reporter|August 27, 2020|Fortune
After all, they have a much better sense of smell than do people.
Viral scents? Dogs sniff out coronavirus in human sweat|Sharon Oosthoek|August 19, 2020|Science News For Students
Newly remote workers are experimenting with scented workspaces, and their potential to make hours with an Excel spreadsheet feel, or at least smell, more like a day at the beach.
Choosing a work-from-home scent can boost focus and productivity|Sarah Todd|August 4, 2020|Quartz
For now, the study doesn’t touch upon the neural highways inside the brain that lead to conscious perception of smell—an obvious next question.
A Highway to Smell: How Scientists Used Light to Incept Smell in Mice|Shelly Fan|July 1, 2020|Singularity Hub

We could end up experiencing much of life alone at home, with no privacy, forgetting the importance of the touch and smell of cultural experiences.
Virtual Reality Has Been Boosted by Coronavirus—Here’s How to Avoid It Leading Us to Dystopia|Alexandros Skandalis|June 24, 2020|Singularity Hub
There is the smell here of an indecent rush for scapegoats, even before we know what really caused this crash.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The smell of grilled meat mixes with the exotic wafts of cinnamon tea served with a mush of sweet brown dessert.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There is a distinct smell of apples, which are handed out by volunteer workers.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You can practically smell the sugar maples and wood violets.
The Best Albums of 2014|Ted Gioia|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“J.W. heard Hayden say softly, ‘You smell good,’” the papers report.
Rape, Lies & Videotape in Ferguson|Michael Daly|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This gives to the second volume something of the smell of an apple store-room.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
From early morn to early morn again, the hot winds continued, and the air was surcharged with the smell of burning plants.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
One little girl attempted to smell at the trees in a drawing and pretended to feed some pictorial dogs.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Chloride of Lime … bad smell … bad egg … white of egg … fowl … grain … flour … flour and water … milk fluid … milk.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Surely it is not urbane to throw on another the burden of saying that he likes not the smell or the inhaling of burning tobacco.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for smell

smell

/ (smɛl) /

verb smells, smelling, smelt or smelled

(tr) to perceive the scent or odour of (a substance) by means of the olfactory nerves

(copula) to have a specified smell; appear to the sense of smell to bethe beaches smell of seaweed; some tobacco smells very sweet

(intr often foll by of) to emit an odour (of)the park smells of flowers

(intr) to emit an unpleasant odour; stink

(tr often foll by out) to detect through shrewdness or instinct

(intr) to have or use the sense of smell; sniff

(intr foll by of) to give indications (of)he smells of money

(intr; foll by around, about, etc) to search, investigate, or pry

(copula) to be or seem to be untrustworthy or corrupt

smell a rat to detect something suspicious

noun

that sense (olfaction) by which scents or odours are perceivedRelated adjective: olfactory

anything detected by the sense of smell; odour; scent

a trace or indication

the act or an instance of smelling

Derived forms of smell

smeller, noun

Word Origin for smell

C12: of uncertain origin; compare Middle Dutch smölen to scorch

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 smell

smell

In addition to the idioms beginning with smell

smell a rat
smell fishy
smell to high heaven
smell up

also see:

come up (smelling like) roses
stink (smell) to high heaven

smell

Idioms about smell

Origin of smell

synonym study for smell

OTHER WORDS FROM smell

Words nearby smell

Words related to smell

How to use smell in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smell

Derived forms of smell

Word Origin for smell

Other Idioms and Phrases with smell