noun
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a substance applied to the body to suppress or mask the odour of perspiration or other body odours
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( as modifier ) Compare antiperspirant
a deodorant spray
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any substance for destroying or masking odours, such as liquid sprayed into the air
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of deodorant
Explanation
Deodorant is a substance that covers up the smell of sweat. You might use deodorant in the summer, applying it under your arms every morning. Deodorant is used to mask the smell of body odors or perspiration, either by keeping you from sweating or by killing the bacteria that can grow in sweaty areas of the body. Most deodorants also have a flowery or musky smell that's meant to overwhelm less pleasant smells. In the mid-1800s, a deodorant was "a substance meant to quell the odor of manure" on a farm or in a garden.
Vocabulary lists containing deodorant
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.
My assistance never came, and the deodorant was never purchased.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
He said he was paid in checks but was then told he wasn’t allowed to cash them, leaving him without enough money to purchase Gatorade or deodorant.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
At 7:00 am, relatives brought packages: deodorant, toothpaste, soap and shampoo in labeled plastic bags, plus disinfectant and bleach -- provisions essential for maintaining hygiene in the latrines of tiny cells.
From Barron's • Jan. 10, 2026
Church, who recently appeared on Celebrity Traitors, said she was surprised by the comment and explained she stopped using deodorant because she was concerned about chemicals.
From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025
“They get angry when they read about how filthy they are,” Hunter Thompson later wrote of the Hell’s Angels, “but instead of shoplifting some deodorant, they strive to become even filthier.”
From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser
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.
