Link Centre Dictionary

smell

US/smɛl/ very common
verb (3) noun (5)

verb

1.
2.

emit an odor

  • “The soup smells good”
3.

smell bad

  • “He rarely washes, and he smells”

noun

1.

the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form

  • “she loved the smell of roses”
Synonyms
2.
3.

the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

  • “the feel of the city excited him”
  • “a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting”
  • “it had the smell of treason”
Synonyms
4.
5.

the act of perceiving the odor of something

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English smellen, smillen, smyllen, smullen, from Old English *smyllan, *smiellan (“to smell, emit fumes”), from Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (“to glow, burn, smoulder”), from Proto-Indo-European *smel- (“to burn, smoke, smoulder; tar, pitch”).

Phrases

  • code smell
  • come out smelling like a rose
  • come out smelling of roses
  • come up smelling like a rose
  • come up smelling of roses
  • money does not smell
  • money has no smell
  • new baby smell
  • new-car smell
  • newborn smell
  • sense of smell
  • smell a fox

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.