SMELL • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Smell

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/smɛl/ Listen

noun

Smell n. (Physiol.)

1.

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

2.

The quality of any thing or substance, or emanation therefrom, which affects the olfactory organs; odor; scent; fragrance; perfume; as, the smell of mint. "Breathing the smell of field and grove." "That which, above all others, yields the sweetest smell in the air, is the violent."

Synonyms: Scent; odor; perfume; fragrance.

verb

Smell v. t. (past & past part. smelt or smelled; pres. part. smelling)

1.

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.

2.

To detect or perceive, as if by the sense of smell; to scent out; often with out. "I smell a device." "Can you smell him out by that?"

3.

To give heed to. (Obs.) "From that time forward I began to smellthe Word of God, and forsook the school doctors."

To smell a rat, to have a sense of something wrong, not clearly evident; to have reason for suspicion. (Colloq.)

To smell out, to find out by sagacity. (Colloq.)

Smell v. i. (past & past part. smelt or smelled; pres. part. smelling)

1.

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

2.

To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savor; as, a report smells of calumny. "Praises in an enemy are superfluous, or smell of craft."

3.

To exercise the sense of smell.

4.

To exercise sagacity.

See images of 'Smell'

Etymology of 'Smell'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Smell" Quotes from Famous Books

... Deeper, but still from the same area, more, as No. 2. Deeper, but not now as deep as before, for an obvious reason, according to my theory, which is my last heap and No. 3. Now, gentlemen, will you pass round this handful. No. 1, what is there about it? Really, an acid smell! and No. 2, the same, but less pungent; No. 3, less still! Well, there you have absolute proof of roguery, which, if it were lacking in strength, would be borne out by the diminution of the lying brown colour towards the ...

— Violin Making - 'The Strad' Library, No. IX. • Walter H. Mayson

... And the faint smell of the mould. Sweeter than the musky scent Of the garden's manifold Perfumes into perfect blent. Lights and sounds and odours stole, In the golden, golden weather— Heart and thought, and life and soul, Stole ...

— The Coming of the Princess and Other Poems • Kate Seymour Maclean

... at this new and strange world. Endless it seemed, lying before him in its solemn silence; a world of peace, of eternal sunlight, smiling skies, and infinite distance. It seemed unreal to him. Did this same planet hold the busy cities to which he had been accustomed? The stuffy room, with its smell of damp ink, its litter of papers—his room in the newspaper offices, filled with desks and the clatter of typewriters? Through whose windows came the incessant clamor that welled up from the streets below? He laughed at the thought ...

— The Coming of the Law • Charles Alden Seltzer

... which, when found, were still soft and pasty, had a rancid smell and a greasy but pungent flavor. The kernels were less elongated and more bulging than those of the Neapolitan olives; were very hard and still contained some shreds of their pith. In a word, they ...

— The Wonders of Pompeii • Marc Monnier

... stale beer from empty kegs piled against the walls mingled with that damp smell peculiar to underground places. Cobwebs tickled their faces as they walked through the seldom used path between the kegs and packing boxes. The small arc of light from the electric torch danced ahead of them as John and Brennan ...

— Spring Street - A Story of Los Angeles • James H. Richardson

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