What does smell mean?
Definitions for smell
smɛlsmell
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word smell.
Princeton's WordNet
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"
olfactory property, smell, aroma, odor, odour, scentnoun
any property detected by the olfactory system
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"
smell, sense of smell, olfaction, olfactory modalitynoun
the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents
smell, smellingverb
the act of perceiving the odor of something
smellverb
inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense
smellverb
emit an odor
"The soup smells good"
smellverb
smell bad
"He rarely washes, and he smells"
smack, reek, smellverb
have an element suggestive (of something)
"his speeches smacked of racism"; "this passage smells of plagiarism"
smell, smell out, senseverb
become aware of not through the senses but instinctively
"I sense his hostility"; "i smell trouble"; "smell out corruption"
Wiktionary
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.
smellnoun
The sense that detects odours.
smellverb
To sense a smell or smells.
smellverb
To have a particular smell, whether good or bad; if descriptive, followed by "like" or "of".
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Smellnoun
Etymology: from the verb.
Next, in the nostrils she doth use the smell,
As God the breath of life in them did give;
So makes he now this pow’r in them to dwell,
To judge all airs, whereby we breathe, and live. Davies.The sweetest smell in the air is the white double violet, which comes twice a-year. Francis Bacon.
All sweet smells have joined with them some earthy or crude odours. Francis Bacon.
Pleasant smells are not confined unto vegetables, but found in divers animals. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.
There is a great variety of smells, though we have but a few names for them: the smell of a violet and of musk, both sweet, are as distinct as any two smells. John Locke.
To Smellverb
Etymology: Of this word the etymology is very obscure. Stephen Skinner, the most acute of all etymologists, derives it from smoel, warm, Dutch; because smells are encreased by heat.
Their neighbours hear the same musick, or smell the same perfumes with themselves: for here is enough. Collier.
The horse smelt him out, and presently a crochet came in his head how to countermine him. Roger L'Estrange.
To Smellverb
The king is but a man as I am: the violet smells to him as it doth to me; all his senses have but human conditions. William Shakespeare.
The daintiest smells of flowers are out of those plants whose leaves smell not. Francis Bacon, Natural History.
Honey in Spain smelleth apparently of the rosemary or orange, from whence the bee gathereth it. Francis Bacon.
A work of this nature is not to be performed upon one leg, and should smell of oil if duly handled. Brown.
If you have a silver saucepan, and the butter smells of smoak, lay the fault upon the coals. Jonathan Swift.
My unsoil’d name, the austereness of my life,
Will so your accusation overweigh,
That you shall stifle in your own report,
And smell of calumny. William Shakespeare.Down with the nose, take the bridge quite away
Of him that his particular to forefend,
Smells from the general weal. William Shakespeare.A man so smelling of the people’s lee,
The court receiv’d him first for charity. Dryden.Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall be cut off. Exod. xxx. 38.
I had a mind to know, whether they would find out the treasure, and whether smelling enabled them to know what is good for their nourishment. Joseph Addison, Spectator.
ChatGPT
smell
Smell refers to the perception or sensation that occurs when olfactory receptors in the nose detect molecules or particles emitted by substances in the surrounding environment. It is one of the five main senses and allows individuals to detect and recognize odors or fragrances. Smell plays a crucial role in taste, navigation, and the overall experience and interpretation of the world around us.
Webster Dictionary
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
Smellnoun
to detect or perceive, as if by the sense of smell; to scent out; -- often with out
Smellnoun
to give heed to
Smellverb
to affect the olfactory nerves; to have an odor or scent; -- often followed by of; as, to smell of smoke, or of musk
Smellverb
to have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savor; as, a report smells of calumny
Smellverb
to exercise the sense of smell
Smellverb
to exercise sagacity
Smellverb
the sense or faculty by which certain qualities of bodies are perceived through the instrumentally of the olfactory nerves. See Sense
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
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
Smell
The ability to detect scents or odors, such as the function of OLFACTORY RECEPTOR NEURONS.
Editors Contribution
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
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
SMELL
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Smell is ranked #150452 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Smell surname appeared 109 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Smell.
82.5% or 90 total occurrences were White.
11.9% or 13 total occurrences were Black.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3803
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2408
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Nouns Frequency: #1374
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'smell' in Verbs Frequency: #629
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of smell in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of smell in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of smell in a Sentence
For me, fragrances are very - one of these beautiful art forms that bring about a whole host of things. It's what you want to smell like, it's memories that make you smile or are resonant of times in your life, it can remind you of music. If you're a lover of scent, it's a very kind of particular and evocative thing.
For me, it's a miracle, although the cream can smell pretty bad. I went to my daughter one time. She said,' You smell horrible. What do you have on ?' I said' marijuana.' My daughter laughed and said' whatever works.'.
Now you can smell it burning.
What we've known for a long time is one of the major causes of smell loss are upper respiratory tract infections due to viruses -- a common cold, influenza -- a subset of people lose their sense of smell, most of them temporarily, but a small subset lose that smell permanently.
If you think you're free, no escape is possible." "A nose that can hear, is worth two that can smell.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for smell
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- شم, رائحةArabic
- qoxuAzerbaijani
- еҫBashkir
- пахBelarusian
- миризмаBulgarian
- গন্ধ, গন্ধ পাওয়াBengali
- olfacte, olorar, ensumar, flairar, olor, flaire, odorar, fer olor a, fer olorCatalan, Valencian
- čich, vonět, čichat, páchnout, vůně, cítit, být cítitCzech
- lugt, lugtesans, dufte, lugte, stinkeDanish
- Geruch, riechen, Geruchssinn, stinkenGerman
- μυρωδιά, όσφρηση, μυρίζωGreek
- odoro, flari, flarsensoEsperanto
- oler, olor, olfato, husmearSpanish
- usain, usaindu, usaimenBasque
- بوی, انبوییدن, بو داشتن, بوییدنPersian
- hajuaisti, tuoksua, haistaa, haista, hajuFinnish
- parfum, sentir, odeur, odoratFrench
- bolaigh, boladh, bolaitheIrish
- cheirarGalician
- soarManx
- הריח, ריח, חוש הריחHebrew
- गंधHindi
- santiHaitian Creole
- illat, bűz, illatozik, bűzlik, szag, szaglás, szagol, megszagolHungarian
- հոտ արձակել, հոտ ունենալ, հոտ քաշել, հոտոտել, հոտ, հոտառությունArmenian
- aroma, bau, mencium, berbauIndonesian
- lykt, lykta, lyktarskynIcelandic
- odorare, sentire, odore, fiutareItalian
- 匂い, 嗅覚, 匂いを感じる, 嗅ぐ, 匂うJapanese
- ngambu, mambuJavanese
- кетшiKazakh
- ក្លិនKhmer
- 냄새, 냄새를 맡다Korean
- بۆنکردن, بۆنKurdish
- oleo, odor, olefaciō, olfaciōLatin
- kvapas, uoslė, uostiLithuanian
- smarža, oža, ostLatvian
- hongihongi, whakamono, konakona, hongiMāori
- мирис, миризба, мириса, намирисуваMacedonian
- ഗന്ധം, വാസന, മണം, ഘ്രാണശക്തിMalayalam
- वास, वास घेणेMarathi
- bauMalay
- နမ်းBurmese
- luktesans, luktNorwegian
- stank, ruiken, geuren, geur, reuk, reukzin, stinkenDutch
- luktesans, luktNorwegian Nynorsk
- stinke, lukteNorwegian
- yishchin, honishchinNavajo, Navaho
- zapach, węch, zmysł zapachuPolish
- بوىPashto, Pushto
- cheiro, olfato, cheirarPortuguese
- mutkhiy, q'apayQuechua
- odurar, savurarRomansh
- mirosi, mirosRomanian
- запах, обоняние, ощущать запах, обонять, пахнуть, нюх, чувствовать запах, чуять, нюхатьRussian
- мирис, mirisSerbo-Croatian
- vôňaSlovak
- vonjSlovene
- joshë, erëAlbanian
- lukt, lukta, doftaSwedish
- harufuSwahili
- వాసనTelugu
- กลิ่นThai
- koklamak, kokmak, koku, koku almakTurkish
- запахUkrainian
- mùiVietnamese
- smeilasienVolapük
- odaWalloon
- 聞Chinese
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"smell." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/smell>.
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