I. o ‧ dor /ˈəʊdə $ ˈoʊdər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: odour , from Latin odor ]
the American spelling of ↑ odour
II. o ‧ dour BrE AmE British English , odor American English /ˈəʊdə $ ˈoʊdər/ noun [uncountable and countable]
a smell, especially an unpleasant one
odour of
the faint odour of damp
strong/unpleasant/pungent/offensive etc odour
obnoxious odours from a factory
⇨ ↑ body odour
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THESAURUS
▪ smell something that you can recognize by breathing in through your nose:
the smell from the kitchen
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What’s that awful smell?
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the sweet smell of roses
▪ whiff something that you smell for a short time:
He caught a whiff of her perfume.
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a whiff of apple blossom
▪ scent a smell – used especially about the pleasant smell from flowers, plants, or fruit. Also used about the smell left by an animal:
The rose had a beautiful scent.
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Cats use their scent to mark their territory.
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the sharp, dying scent of autumn
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the heady scent (=strong scent) of magnolias
▪ fragrance/perfume a pleasant smell, especially from flowers, plants, or fruit. Fragrance and perfume are more formal than scent :
the sweet perfume of the orange blossoms
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Each mango has its own special fragrance.
▪ aroma formal a pleasant smell from food or coffee:
the aroma of fresh coffee
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The kitchen was filled with the aroma of mince pies.
▪ odour British English , odor American English formal an unpleasant smell:
An unpleasant odour was coming from the dustbins.
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the odor of stale tobacco smoke
▪ pong British English informal an unpleasant smell:
What’s that horrible pong?
▪ stink/stench a very strong and unpleasant smell:
I couldn’t get rid of the stink of sweat.
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The toilet gave off a terrible stench.