smell.
A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
Meaning & usage
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.
The sense that detects odours.
A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *smel-der. Proto-West Germanic *smalljan Old English *smiellan Middle English smellen English smell From Middle English smellen, smillen, smyllen, smullen, from Old English *smyllan, *smiellan (“to smell, emit fumes”), from Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (“to glow, burn, smoulder”), from Proto-Indo-European *smel- (“to burn, smoke, smoulder; tar, pitch”). The noun is from Middle English smel, smil, smul (“smell, odour”). Related to Saterland Frisian smeele (“to smoulder”), Middle Dutch smōlen (“to burn, smoulder”) (whence Dutch smeulen (“to smoulder”)), Middle Low German smölen (“to be hazy, be dusty”) (whence Low German smölen (“smoulder”)), Low German smullen (“emit smoke”), West Flemish smoel (“stuffy, muggy, hazy”), Danish smul (“dust, powder”), Lithuanian smilkyti (“to incense, fumigate”), Lithuanian smilkti (“to smudge, smolder, fume, reek”), Lithuanian smalkinti (“to fume”), Middle Irish smál, smól, smúal (“fire, gleed, embers, ashes”), Russian смола́ (smolá, “resin, tar”). Compare smoulder, smother.
To sense a smell or smells.
I can smell fresh bread.
Smell the milk and tell me whether it's gone off.
To sense a smell or smells. To detect or perceive; often with out.
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.
The roses smell lovely.
Her feet smell of cheese.
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad. To smell of; to have a smell of
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad. To smell bad; to stink.
Ew, this restroom smells (loathsomely).
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad. To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
A report smells of calumny.
To give heed to.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *smel-der. Proto-West Germanic *smalljan Old English *smiellan Middle English smellen English smell From Middle English smellen, smillen, smyllen, smullen, from Old English *smyllan, *smiellan (“to smell, emit fumes”), from Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (“to glow, burn, smoulder”), from Proto-Indo-European *smel- (“to burn, smoke, smoulder; tar, pitch”). The noun is from Middle English smel, smil, smul (“smell, odour”). Related to Saterland Frisian smeele (“to smoulder”), Middle Dutch smōlen (“to burn, smoulder”) (whence Dutch smeulen (“to smoulder”)), Middle Low German smölen (“to be hazy, be dusty”) (whence Low German smölen (“smoulder”)), Low German smullen (“emit smoke”), West Flemish smoel (“stuffy, muggy, hazy”), Danish smul (“dust, powder”), Lithuanian smilkyti (“to incense, fumigate”), Lithuanian smilkti (“to smudge, smolder, fume, reek”), Lithuanian smalkinti (“to fume”), Middle Irish smál, smól, smúal (“fire, gleed, embers, ashes”), Russian смола́ (smolá, “resin, tar”). Compare smoulder, smother.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.