smell
[verb]
Synonyms:
- sniff, scent
- stink, pong (Brit. informal), reek
[noun]
Synonyms:
- odour, aroma, bouquet, fragrance, perfume, scent
- stink, fetor, pong (Brit. informal), stench

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Related Idioms: get a whiff of, offend the nostrils, smell (or stink) to high heaven
Related Words: detect, perceive, sense, whiff, snaffle, snuffle, bouquet, fragrance, incense, perfume, redolence, spice, flavor, savor, stench, stink

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English Thesaurus: smell, whiff, scent, fragrance/perfume, aroma, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. smell¹ S2 W3 /smel/ noun

1. [countable] the quality that people and animals recognize by using their nose
smell of
The air was filled with the smell of flowers.
What’s that horrible smell?

2. [countable] an unpleasant smell:
I think the smell’s getting worse.

3. [uncountable] the ability to notice or recognize smells:
loss of taste and smell
Dogs have a very good sense of smell.

4. [countable usually singular] an act of smelling something:
Have a smell of this cheese; does it seem all right?

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. smell² S2 W3 verb (past tense and past participle smelled especially American English or smelt /smelt/ British English)

1. NOTICE A SMELL [transitive not in progressive] to notice or recognize a particular smell:
I can smell burning.
Can you smell something?

2. HAVE A SMELL [linking verb] to have a particular smell
smell adj
The stew smelled delicious.
Mm! Something smells good!
smell of
My clothes smelt of smoke.
smell like
It smells like rotten eggs.
sweet-smelling/foul-smelling etc
sweet-smelling flowers

3. HAVE A BAD SMELL [intransitive not in progressive] to have an unpleasant smell:
Your feet smell!
The room smelled to high heaven (=had a very bad smell).

4. PUT YOUR NOSE NEAR SOMETHING [transitive] to put your nose near something in order to discover what kind of smell it has Synonym : sniff:
She bent down and smelt the flowers.

5. HAVE ABILITY [intransitive] to have the ability to notice and recognize smells:
I’ve got a cold and I can’t smell.

6. smell trouble/danger etc to feel that something is going to happen, especially something bad:
Miller had smelled trouble the moment she said who she was.

7. smell a rat informal to guess that something wrong or dishonest is happening

8. smell wrong/fishy/odd etc informal to seem dishonest or untrue:
The whole thing is beginning to smell fishy to me.
⇒ come up/out smelling of roses at rose¹(6)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

smell
noun
ADJ. overpowering, pervasive, pungent, rich, sharp, strong There was an overpowering smell of burning tyres.
faint | distinct | distinctive, particular, unmistakable | funny, peculiar, strange, unusual What's that funny smell?
familiar | lingering | aromatic, delectable, delicious, fragrant, fresh, lovely, nice, savoury, sweet, wonderful the aromatic smells of a spring garden full of herbs
warm | appalling, awful, bad, evil, horrible, nasty, offensive, terrible, unpleasant, vile | acrid, nauseating, putrid, rank, sickly An acrid smell filled the air.
damp, dank, musty, rancid, sour, stale the sour smell of unwashed linen
earthy, fishy, masculine, metallic, musky, oily, smoky, spicy | cooking Cooking smells drifted up from the kitchen.
VERB + SMELL be filled with, have The air was filled with a pervasive smell of chemicals. The cottage had a musty smell after being shut up over the winter.
give off The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.
catch, detect As she walked into the house she detected the smell of gas.
SMELL + VERB come, emanate, drift, float, waft A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden.
fill sth, hang | hit sb Then the pungent smell hit us?rotting fish and seaweed.
PREP. ~ from the putrid smell from the slaughterhouse
~ of The faint smell of her perfume hung in the air.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smell
verb
I. notice/identify sth by using your nose
ADV. properly, well I had a streaming cold, so I could not smell properly.
almost Snow fell so that you could almost smell the cold.
VERB + SMELL can/could

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smell
II. have a particular smell
ADV. strongly His clothes smelled strongly of fish.
faintly, slightly, vaguely He smelled faintly of sweat.
deliciously, pleasantly, sweetly
PREP. like It smells like rotten meat!
of The kitchen smelled sweetly of herbs and fruit.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smell

strong
There was a strong smell of burning in the air.
faint (=not strong)
I noticed a faint smell of perfume.
overpowering (=very strong)
The smell of disinfectant was overpowering.
nice/pleasant/lovely
There was a lovely smell of fresh coffee.
bad/unpleasant/horrible etc
The smell in the shed was awful.
a strange/funny/odd smell
What’s that funny smell?
a sweet smell
She liked the sweet smell of hay in the barn.
a delicious smell (=a pleasant smell of food)
There were delicious smells emanating from the kitchen.
a sickly smell (=sweet and unpleasant)
the sweet, sickly smell of decaying human flesh
a pungent smell formal (=strong and unpleasant)
A pungent smell of garlic filled the air.
an acrid smell (=strong and bitter)
The acrid smell of smoke clung about the place.
a musty/stale/sour smell (=old and not fresh)
The clothes in the wardrobe had a damp musty smell.
have a strong/sweet etc smell
The flowers had a lovely sweet smell.
be filled with a smell
The house was filled with the smell of baking bread.
give off a smell (=produce a smell)
Rubber gives off a strong smell when it is burned.
notice/smell a smell (also detect a smell formal)
He detected a faint smell of blood.
a smell comes from somewhere (also a smell emanates from somewhere formal)
A delicious smell of baking came from the kitchen.
He was getting complaints about the smell emanating from his shop.
a smell wafts somewhere (=moves there through the air)
The smells wafting up the stairs from the kitchen were making her feel hungry.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smell
I.
verb
See FEEL 4 (feel)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

smell
II.
noun
BAD: You can feel the smell of the fish a mile away.
GOOD: You can smell the fish a mile away.
BAD: I could feel the smell of his cigar all over the house.
GOOD: I could smell his cigar all over the house.

Usage Note:
smell sth (NOT feel the smell of ): 'I can smell something burning.'
Compare: 'The whole house smelled of his cigar.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

smell something that you can recognize by breathing in through your nose:
the smell from the kitchen
What’s that awful smell?
the sweet smell of roses
whiff something that you smell for a short time:
He caught a whiff of her perfume.
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.
Cats use their scent to mark their territory.
the sharp, dying scent of autumn
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
Each mango has its own special fragrance.
aroma formal a pleasant smell from food or coffee:
the aroma of fresh coffee
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.
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.
The toilet gave off a terrible stench.
smell good/nice etc
The food smelled good.
smell delicious
That soup smells delicious.
smell fresh
Rub your chopping board with lemon to keep it smelling fresh.
smell sweet
A ripe melon will smell sweet.
smell bad/awful etc
Cigarettes make your clothes smell awful.
smell funny/strange
This place smells funny sometimes.
smell strongly of something
The man smelled strongly of alcohol.
smell faintly of something
His suit smelled faintly of tobacco.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲