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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
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.
Our goals at that time were to be able to tour and play places like the Smell, warehouses where you would watch from the back and say, “Hey, I think it’s gonna fill out.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026
"Smell has a really profound and pervasive effect on human health, so restoring it is not just for pleasure and safety but also for psychological well-being," Datta said.
From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026
There were only three clean quads in his routine to the songs "The Ball" by Asaf Avidan, "The Smell of the Sea" by Alan Mayer and "Code Duello" by Power-Haus and Sergiu-Dan Muresan.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
Appeared in the October 9, 2025, print edition as 'The Craze Dividing Body Care: Trying to Smell Like a Doughnut'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
She just sat there, smiling kind of sick, not moving while right next to her Mom and Smell Factor crinkled up the disposable table together and threw it away.
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
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.
