smell
Americanverb (used with object)
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smells,
present (3rd person singular)
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smelled,
past participle, past
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smelt,
past participle, past
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smelling
present participle
-
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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smells,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smelled,
past participle, past
-
smelt,
past participle, past
-
smelling
present participle
-
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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smells
plural
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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
Synonym Usage
See odor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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smellernoun
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outsmellverb (used with object)
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smell-lessadjective
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smellableadjective
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unsmelledadjective
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unsmellingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smellsimple
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smellssimple
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have smelledperfect
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have smeltperfect
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has smelledperfect
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has smeltperfect
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am smellingprogressive
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are smellingprogressive
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is smellingprogressive
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have been smellingperfect progressive
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has been smellingperfect progressive
Past
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smelledsimple
-
smeltsimple
-
had smelledperfect
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had smeltperfect
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was smellingprogressive
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were smellingprogressive
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had been smellingperfect progressive
Future
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
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See Examples For:
Trump described the man he’d had a chance encounter with as a 25-year Navy “catapulter” who loves the smell of steam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
To investigate how cannabinoids influence fear and anxiety, researchers exposed mice to a threatening smell derived from fox urine.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
In its report it said there were a "significant number" of complaints from locals about the smell and further investigations indicated the oil had contaminated groundwater supplies.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
“This is not passing the smell test with how the money is being allocated,” Barger said at a meeting in May.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
I tried not to take a deep breath because the smell was stronger now.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
This game smells of a really obvious 1-1 draw to me too.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
From wafting tar pits and smells of the beach to native plants and a chocolate factory, our readers smelled Los Angeles and told us about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Powering the nation’s massive AI build-out requires lots of walking, checking for burning smells and monitoring for bird damage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
From an early age, people repeatedly experience certain smells alongside eating.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
When we arrive, Bubbe’s house is dark and it smells musty and stale.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
It was fall, and the entryway smelled aggressively of cinnamon brooms.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
The haze can be smelled even indoors in the city of about 700,000 people.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
“I saw thick smoke and smelled a strong odor of gunpowder,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"The lab smelled like a fish market," she says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Moose must have seen them or heard them or possibly smelled them.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Alumina is a substance extracted from bauxite ore that is mainly used as the raw material to smelt aluminum metal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
He and other environmental advocates say the voluntary deals struck by major water agencies would be disastrous for threatened and endangered fish, including salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, longfin smelt and Delta smelt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
His deceit was uncovered when Helen's son smelt a rat and applied for Clare's Law, external, where you can ask if someone has a history of abusive offending.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Look no further than GameStop’s $56 billion bid for eBay, which is the equivalent of a smelt swallowing a whale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026
When he smelt Tall Tailless among the willows, he began to whimper too.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The Seahawks, defending Super Bowl champions, got a collective whiff of smelling salts before Sunday’s game, having suffered an embarrassing loss at Washington a week earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
A citizens' group said on social media that one resident in the street where the explosion happened had alerted authorities after smelling a possible gas leak.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Cats displayed this response more often when smelling unfamiliar urine than when smelling their own.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Drivers who use air fresheners are just trying to keep their cars smelling good between passengers, says Chris Gerace, who’s been driving for Uber and Lyft for a decade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“I have an interest in not making you a new set of clothes every other day. I have an interest in your not smelling so bad and walking around my island in smoldering rags.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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