smell
(smĕl)
[Middle English smellen.]
verb: smelled or smelt (smĕlt), smell·ing, smells.
transitive verb
- To perceive the scent of (something) by means of the olfactory nerves.
- To sense the presence of by or as if by the olfactory nerves; detect or discover: We smelled trouble ahead. The committee tried to smell out corruption in law enforcement.
intransitive verb
- To use the sense of smell; perceive the scent of something.
- To have or emit an odor: “The breeze smelled exactly like Vouvray—flowery, with a hint of mothballs underneath” (Anne Tyler)
- To be suggestive; have a touch of something: a cave that smells of terror.
- To have or emit an unpleasant odor; stink: This closet smells.
- To appear to be dishonest; suggest evil or corruption.
noun
- The sense by which odors are perceived; the olfactory sense.
- That quality of something that may be perceived by the olfactory sense.
- The act or an instance of smelling.
- A distinctive enveloping or characterizing quality; an aura or trace: the smell of success.
idioms
- smell a rat
- To suspect that something is wrong.
synonyms:
smell, aroma, odor, scent These nouns denote a quality that can be perceived by the olfactory sense: the smell of gas; the aroma of frying onions; hospital odors; the scent of pine needles.
