I. ˈsmel verb
( smelled -ld ; or smelt -lt ; smelled or smelt ; smelling ; smells )
Etymology: Middle English smellen, smullen; akin to Middle Dutch smölen to smolder, scorch, Low German smelen, smölen to smolder, scorch, Middle Irish smāl, smōl, smūal fire, glow, Russian smalit' to scorch, singe; basic meaning: to smolder
transitive verb
1.
a. : to perceive by the excitation of the olfactory nerves : get the odor or scent of through stimuli affecting the sensory nerves of the nasal passages
smelt growing things in the park — Ellen Glasgow
b. : to inhale the odor of (as for enjoyment or testing) : sniff
smell stew cooking
smell each perfume offered for sale
2. : to detect or become aware of as if by the sense of smell or natural instinct
the censors smelled sex in every realistic literary creation — O.S.J.Gogarty
very few fail to smell the tension and the fear in the air of its cities — Patrick O'Donovan
3. : to emit the odor of
you smell sherry, sir — W.M.Thackeray
intransitive verb
1. : to exercise the sense of smell: as
a. : to be on the scent for something
the dogs ran smelling through the fields
b. : to inhale an odor
smell at her salts
2.
a.
(1) : to have an odor or scent : give forth an aroma
the air smells of the sea — Gladys Taber
lorries rolled by smelling of rubber and oil — Paul Roche
it smells like violets
(2) : to have or exhibit a characteristic aura or atmosphere : be suggestive
the accounts … seemed to me to smell of truth — R.S.Bourne
elimination of anything smelling of policy was necessary in order to secure unanimous agreement — R.C.Tolman
b.
(1) : to have an offensive odor : stink
the canals are sewers and, in tactless truth, they smell — Claudia Cassidy
(2) : to appear evil, dishonest, ugly, or disreputable
all this from the moral point of view smells — A.F.Wills
•
- smell a rat
- smell of the lamp
- smell one's oats
- smell the bottom
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English smel, smul; akin to smellen, smullen, v. — more at smell I
1.
a. : the act or power of perceiving odor : olfactory sensation or the capacity for it : olfaction
canine behavior is largely oriented in terms of smell
b. : the one of the special senses that is concerned with the perception of the quality of a substance which is classified as odor, is mediated by the olfactory organ, is normally sensitive to volatile or dissolved material in extremely low concentration (as 0.00000001 mg. per liter), is conducted centrally by the olfactory nerve, and is coordinated especially by centers in the hippocampal convolution
2. : the property of a thing that affects the olfactory organs : a pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral odor
the smell of fat meat cooking in beans — Jean Stafford
the sweet, intense smell of overripe fruit — William Beebe
3.
a. : a very small amount or indication : trace , hint
add only a smell of garlic or the dish will offend most palates
taking care to avoid any smell of impropriety in the proceedings
b. : the quality by which an influence or presence is detected
quite soon danger loses the smell it had for you — you know it's there, but only because you know it must be there — Elizabeth Bowen
c. : a pervasive quality : aura , atmosphere
the smell of mortality that exudes from the old records — V.L.Parrington
4. : an act or instance of smelling
Synonyms:
smell , scent , odor , aroma mean, in common, the quality of a thing that makes it perceptible to the olfactory sense, or something perceptible only to that sense. smell usually indicates solely the sensation, usually devoid of connotation, sometimes but rarely, however, as opposed to aroma , carrying the suggestion of something unpleasant
the smell of oranges and wooden boxes — Kay Fuller
the spicy smell of tobacco — American Guide Series: Tennessee
like all houses … had its peculiar smell — Samuel Butler †1902
about the town's political activity there was a smell to high heaven
scent is associated, in one direction, with the natural odor of living things, especially animals, and so carries rather vivid connotations; in being associated with the trail an animal leaves, it suggests a finer perception than smell; in being the word in Britain equivalent to the American perfume, it frequently suggests something pleasant
the scent of rabbits roused the dog to alertness
the scents of the countryside — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude
the rich, vital scents of the ploughed ground — Ellen Glasgow
vibrating among the pale petals of the lilies and setting free their scent in short waves of perfume — John Galsworthy
odor is sometimes interchangeable with smell , often implying unpleasantness
innumerable articles of manufacture carry with them characteristic odors — A.C.Morrison
redolent with the odor of West Indian molasses, rum, spices, and China tea — American Guide Series: Maine
the fetid odor of a bog, the stench of a carcass in the woods, the delectable reek of ferment in the hay-crammed barn — D.C.Peattie
aroma suggests an odor that is penetrating or pungent and usually pleasant as from something savory
the aroma of cooking coffee
African ginger lacks the fine aroma of Jamaica ginger but it has an intensely pungent odor — J.W.Parry
the sweet, burned aroma of roasted meat and the penetrating, acid odor of hardwood smoke — Rufus Jarman
the pervading aroma of decay and hopelessness — Harrison Smith
•
- smell of the lamp