What does "smell" mean?
A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
Smell
/smɛl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
- Grammar: smell is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aroma, odor, scent, fragrance.
- Useful contrasts: anosmia, ignore, no odor.
- Usage evidence: Never lose sight of the importance of a beautiful sunrise, or watching your kids sleep, or the smell of rain. It's often the small things that really matter in life.
How to use "smell"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "smell" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "smell" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "smell" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "smell" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "smell" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aroma" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "smell", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance. countable, uncountable
"I love the smell of fresh bread."
- 2 the act of perceiving the odor of something wordnet
- 3 The sense that detects odours. countable, uncountable
- 4 any property detected by the olfactory system wordnet
- 5 A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate. countable, uncountable
"I’m just saying, this has a bad smell to it."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents wordnet
- 7 the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form wordnet
- 8 the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people wordnet
Verb
- 1 To sense a smell or smells. transitive
"I can smell fresh bread."
- 2 become aware of not through the senses but instinctively wordnet
- 3 To sense a smell or smells.; To detect or perceive; often with out. broadly, transitive
"I smell a device."
- 4 emit an odor wordnet
- 5 Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad. copulative, intransitive
"The roses smell lovely."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 smell bad wordnet
- 7 Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.; To smell of; to have a smell of broadly, copulative, intransitive
"I do smell all horse-piss"
- 8 inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense wordnet
- 9 Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.; To smell bad; to stink. copulative, intransitive
"Ew, this restroom smells (loathsomely)."
- 10 have an element suggestive (of something) wordnet
- 11 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. copulative, figuratively, intransitive
"A report smells of calumny."
- 12 To give heed to. obsolete
"So from that tyme forwarde I began to ſmell the word of god, and forſoke the ſchole doctors and ſuch foolries."
Example
"Never lose sight of the importance of a beautiful sunrise, or watching your kids sleep, or the smell of rain. It's often the small things that really matter in life."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "smell"?
Common synonyms include: aroma, odor, scent, fragrance, odour, olfaction.
How do you use "smell" in a sentence?
Never lose sight of the importance of a beautiful sunrise, or watching your kids sleep, or the smell of rain. It's often the small things that really matter in life.
How do you pronounce "smell"?
Pronounced /smɛl/.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *smel- 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.