Besmell

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To smell out; sniff about, around, or all over; investigate or check by smelling; detect a smell or a scent. emphatic, transitive

    "I'll tell you News, Sirs, I carry a little Muist-box (which is the Word of GOD) in my Bosom, and when I meet with the ill Air of ill company, that's like to gar me Swarf, I besmell my self with the 'sweet lavour of it, and with the Name ..."

Synonyms

All synonyms
olfact

Example

More examples

"I'll tell you News, Sirs, I carry a little Muist-box (which is the Word of GOD) in my Bosom, and when I meet with the ill Air of ill company, that's like to gar me Swarf, I besmell my self with the 'sweet lavour of it, and with the Name ..."

Etymology

From be- + smell.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.