n.
Pronunciation: ' smel
Function: verb
Inflected Form: smelled \ ' smeld \ or smelt \ ' smelt \ ; smell · ing
Etymology: Middle English
Date: 12th century
transitive verb
1 : to perceive the odor or scent of through stimuli affecting the olfactory nerves : get the odor or scent of with the nose
2 : to detect or become aware of as if by the sense of smell <I smell trouble>
3 : to emit the odor of
intransitive verb
1 : to exercise the sense of smell
2 a (1) : to have an odor or scent (2) : to have a characteristic aura or atmosphere : SMACK <the accounts ⋯ seemed to me to smell of truth ― R. S. Bourne> also : SEEM , APPEAR <the story didn't smell right> b (1) : to have an offensive odor : STINK (2) : to be of bad or questionable quality <all this from the moral point of view smell s ― A. F. Wills>
– smell · er noun
– smell a rat : to have a suspicion of something wrong
– smell blood : to sense an opponent's weakness or vulnerability
– smell the roses : to enjoy or savor life