[smell] vb smelled or smelt ; smell.ing [ME] vt (12c) 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
3: to emit the odor of ~ vi 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 ~ of truth --R. S. Bourne"; also: seem, appear "the story didn't ~ 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 ~s --A. F. Wills" -- smell.er n -- smell a rat : to have a suspicion of something wrong
[2]smell n (12c) 1: the property of a thing that affects the olfactory organs: odor
2. a: the process, function, or power of smelling b: the special sense concerned with the perception of odor 3 a: a very small amount: trace "add only a ~ of garlic" b: a pervading or characteristic quality: aura "the ~ of affluence, of power --Harry Hervey"
4: an act or instance of smelling syn smell, scent, odor, aroma mean the quality that makes a thing perceptible to the olfactory sense. smell implies solely the sensation without suggestion of quality or character "an odd smell permeated the room". scent applies to the characteristic smell given off by a substance, an animal, or a plant "the scent of lilacs". odor may imply a stronger or more readily distinguished scent or it may be equivalent to smell "a cheese with a strong odor". aroma suggests a somewhat penetrating usu. pleasant odor "the aroma of freshly ground coffee".