Overscent
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A scent that is added to or layered over another.
"Through the broken windows of the wheelhouse came a stench compounded of bog and decay, the watery overscent of the thrusting river that had lured Sir Walter Raleigh toward a mythical El Dorado."
- 1 To give too much scent to (something or someone); to scent excessively. transitive
"1989, Dan Bertalan, Traditional Bowyers of America, East Lansing, MI: Envisage Unlimited, Chapter 10, p. 158, He figured the big bear was coming in downwind and picking up his scent. “So I moved the bait station about 200 yards to a better location. Most bear hunters won’t make so many changes because they’re scared of overscenting the area. But I knew I had to make changes to kill that bear. […] ”"
- 2 To apply too much scent to oneself. intransitive, reflexive
"It is never good taste to overscent one’s-self, but a person who uses no kind of artificial perfume at all, neither in soap nor in pomade, nor yet in the linen, is not always the most agreeable."
- 3 To scent so as to cover or conceal the original odour.
"having the stinch of his railing tongue, over-sented with the fragrant ointment of this Prince’s memory"
Example
More examples"1989, Dan Bertalan, Traditional Bowyers of America, East Lansing, MI: Envisage Unlimited, Chapter 10, p. 158, He figured the big bear was coming in downwind and picking up his scent. “So I moved the bait station about 200 yards to a better location. Most bear hunters won’t make so many changes because they’re scared of overscenting the area. But I knew I had to make changes to kill that bear. […] ”"
Etymology
From over- + scent.
More for "overscent"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.