Definitions for smell
smɛlsmell

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. smell, odor, odour, olfactory sensation, olfactory perceptionnoun

   the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form

   "she loved the smell of roses"

2. olfactory property, smell, aroma, odor, odour, scentnoun

   any property detected by the olfactory system

3. spirit, tone, feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smellnoun

   the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

   "the feel of the city excited him"; "a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting"; "it had the smell of treason"

4. smell, sense of smell, olfaction, olfactory modalitynoun

   the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents

5. smell, smellingverb

   the act of perceiving the odor of something

6. smellverb

   inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense

7. smellverb

   emit an odor

   "The soup smells good"

8. smellverb

   smell bad

   "He rarely washes, and he smells"

9. smack, reek, smellverb

   have an element suggestive (of something)

   "his speeches smacked of racism"; "this passage smells of plagiarism"

10. smell, smell out, senseverb

    become aware of not through the senses but instinctively

    "I sense his hostility"; "i smell trouble"; "smell out corruption"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. smellnoun

   A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.

   I love the smell of fresh bread.

2. smellnoun

   The sense that detects odours.

3. smellverb

   To sense a smell or smells.

4. smellverb

   To have a particular smell, whether good or bad; if descriptive, followed by "like" or "of".

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Smellnoun

   to perceive by the olfactory nerves, or organs of smell; to have a sensation of, excited through the nasal organs when affected by the appropriate materials or qualities; to obtain the scent of; as, to smell a rose; to smell perfumes

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

2. Smellnoun

   to detect or perceive, as if by the sense of smell; to scent out; -- often with out

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

3. Smellnoun

   to give heed to

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

4. Smellverb

   to affect the olfactory nerves; to have an odor or scent; -- often followed by of; as, to smell of smoke, or of musk

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

5. Smellverb

   to have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savor; as, a report smells of calumny

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

6. Smellverb

   to exercise the sense of smell

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

7. Smellverb

   to exercise sagacity

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

8. Smellverb

   the sense or faculty by which certain qualities of bodies are perceived through the instrumentally of the olfactory nerves. See Sense

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

9. Smellverb

   the quality of any thing or substance, or emanation therefrom, which affects the olfactory organs; odor; scent; fragrance; perfume; as, the smell of mint

   Etymology: [OE. smellen, smillen, smullen; cf. LG. smellen, smelen, smlen, schmelen, to smoke, to reek, D. smeulen to smolder, and E. smolder. Cf. Smell, n.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Smell

   smel, v.i. to affect the nose: to have odour: to use the sense of smell.—v.t. to perceive by the nose:—pa.t. and pa.p. smelled or smelt.—n. the quality of bodies which affects the nose: odour: perfume: the sense which perceives this quality.—ns. Smell′er; Smell′-feast, a greedy fellow; Smell′ing, the sense by which smells are perceived; Smell′ing-bott′le, a bottle containing smelling-salts, or the like; Smell′ing-salts, a preparation of ammonium carbonate with lavender, &c., used as a stimulant in faintness, &c.; Smell′-trap, a drain-trap.—adj. Smell′y, having a bad smell.—Smell a rat (see Rat); Smell out, to find out by prying. [Allied to Low Ger. smelen, Dut. smeulen, to smoulder.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Smell

   The ability to detect scents or odors, such as the function of OLFACTORY RECEPTOR NEURONS.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. smell

   The ability to perceive and sense through the nose and related elements.

   My husband did smell my perfume as he was very complimentary.

   Submitted by MaryC on December 31, 2019  

Matched Categories

1. • Atmosphere
   • Cause To Be Perceived
   • Perceive
   • Smell
   • Suggest

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3803

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2408

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Nouns Frequency: #1374

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Verbs Frequency: #629

Anagrams for smell »

1. Mells

How to pronounce smell?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say smell in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of smell in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of smell in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of smell in a Sentence

1. George R.R. Martin:

   Opening your eyes is all that is needing. The heart lies and the head plays tricks with us, but the eyes see true. Look with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Taste with your mouth. Smell with your nose. Feel with your skin. Then comes the thinking, afterward, and in that way knowing the truth.

2. Animal Control Warden Jason Pound:

   I could smell it and could tell that it had actually been through a cycle, smelled like Downy.

3. Martin Passingham:

   You walk into the workshop now and the smells are very, very strong, the removal of the ice has let all of that smell come out of the floor and timbers.

4. David Birdsell:

   Right now people smell some blood in the water.

5. Beachgoer Chris Bennett:

   They just didnt want to endure the smell.

Images & Illustrations of smell

Popularity rank by frequency of use