smell
Americanverb (used with object)
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to perceive the odor or scent of through the nose by means of the olfactory nerves; inhale the odor of.
I smell something burning.
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to test by the sense of smell.
She smelled the meat to see if it was fresh.
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to perceive, detect, or discover by shrewdness or sagacity.
The detective smelled foul play.
verb (used without object)
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to perceive something by its odor or scent.
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to search or investigate (followed by around orabout ).
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to give off or have an odor or scent.
Do the yellow roses smell?
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to give out an offensive odor; stink.
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to have a particular odor (followed byof ).
My hands smell of fish.
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to have a trace or suggestion (followed byof ).
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Informal. to be of inferior quality; stink.
The play is good, but the direction smells.
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Informal. to have the appearance or a suggestion of guilt or corruption.
They may be honest, but the whole situation smells.
noun
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the sense of smell; faculty of smelling.
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the quality of a thing that is or may be smelled; odor; scent.
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a trace or suggestion.
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an act or instance of smelling.
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a pervading appearance, character, quality, or influence.
the smell of money.
verb phrase
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smell out to look for or detect as if by smelling; search out.
to smell out enemy spies.
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smell up to fill with an offensive odor; stink up.
The garbage smelled up the yard.
idioms
verb
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(tr) to perceive the scent or odour of (a substance) by means of the olfactory nerves
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(copula) to have a specified smell; appear to the sense of smell to be
the beaches smell of seaweed
some tobacco smells very sweet
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to emit an odour (of)
the park smells of flowers
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(intr) to emit an unpleasant odour; stink
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to detect through shrewdness or instinct
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(intr) to have or use the sense of smell; sniff
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to give indications (of)
he smells of money
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(intr; foll by around, about, etc) to search, investigate, or pry
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(copula) to be or seem to be untrustworthy or corrupt
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to detect something suspicious
noun
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that sense (olfaction) by which scents or odours are perceived
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anything detected by the sense of smell; odour; scent
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a trace or indication
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the act or an instance of smelling
Related Words
See odor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of smell
First recorded in 1125–75; early Middle English smell, smull (noun), smellen, smullen (verb); origin uncertain.
Explanation
Smell is one of your five senses—the one you use your nose for. Dogs have such a sharp sense of smell that they can sniff out things like explosives and drugs. Your sense of smell gives you important information, like "this milk is sour," or "I need a shower." An individual odor or scent is also a smell, and to perceive it with your nose is to smell it. If someone says, "You smell," it's not a compliment—what they mean is, "You don't smell good." While experts believe that smell has an Old English root, it was never recorded.
Vocabulary lists containing smell
Smell Words
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Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 4
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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.
“These systems will even smell you,” he predicts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
The smell is "like excrement," said 68-year-old Patricio Velasquez, who shuts himself inside every summer due to the odor emanating from the dump.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
The performance, “I take you to a room in Brawley and we smell onions,” was created at a time when I had no contact with my mother since age 5 years.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
One of the most underappreciated ways to make a kitchen feel clean is simply to make it smell fresh.
From Salon • May 5, 2026
In front of our eyes, the bubbling water turned dark and the same dreadful smell from the fields was on us.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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.
