/ sent; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ U , C ] the pleasant smell that sth has :
The air was filled with the scent of wild flowers.
These flowers have no scent.
2.
[ U , C , usually sing. ] the smell that a person or an animal leaves behind and that other animals such as dogs can follow
SYN trail :
The dogs must have lost her scent.
3.
[ U ] ( especially BrE ) a liquid with a pleasant smell that you wear on your skin to make it smell nice :
a bottle of scent
4.
scent of sth [ sing. ] the feeling that sth is present or is going to happen very soon :
The scent of victory was in the air.
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IDIOMS
- put / throw sb off the scent
- on the scent (of sth)
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
to find sth by using the sense of smell :
The dog scented a rabbit.
2.
to begin to feel that sth exists or is about to happen
SYN sense :
The press could scent a scandal.
By then, the team was scenting victory.
3.
scent sth (with sth) [ often passive ] to give sth a particular, pleasant smell :
Roses scented the night air.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (denoting the sense of smell): from Old French sentir perceive, smell, from Latin sentire . The addition of -c- (in the 17th cent.) is unexplained.