What does "smell" mean?

1. (an odour) the quality of something that you notice with your nose. 2. (the sense) the ability to notice things with your nose. 3. (to perceive an odour) to notice or recognize a scent using your nose. 4. (to have a scent) to have a particular quality that people notice with their noses. 5. (to seem suspicious) to feel like a situation is wrong or dishonest.

smell — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "The flowers smell beautifully."?

No — say "The flowers smell beautiful.". When 'smell' describes a quality, use an adjective, not an adverb.

Word

Infinitive

smell

Past

smelled / smelt

Past participle

smelled / smelt

01an odour

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. the quality of something that you notice with your nose.

n. a sensation, whether pleasant or unpleasant, detected by the olfactory system.

“The sweet smell of fresh bread filled the entire kitchen.”

“The pungent smell of chlorine greeted the swimmers as they entered the indoor pool area.”

Synonyms

scent odour aroma

02the sense

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the ability to notice things with your nose.

n. the faculty or sense that detects and perceives odours.

“Dogs have a much stronger sense of smell than humans do.”

“The patient reported a temporary loss of smell following the viral infection, which significantly affected her appetite.”

Synonyms

olfaction

03to perceive an odour

A2 · Elementary

v. to notice or recognize a scent using your nose.

v. to perceive or detect the odour of something by means of the olfactory organs.

“Can you smell the smoke coming from the neighbor's garden?”

“She leaned down to smell the roses, noting the delicate fragrance that the morning dew had intensified.”

Synonyms

scent sniff

04to have a scent

A2 · Elementary

v. to have a particular quality that people notice with their noses.

v. to emit an odour; often functions as a copular verb followed by an adjective or a prepositional phrase.

“The old books smell of dust and paper.”

“The damp basement smelled strongly of mildew, suggesting that the pipes had been leaking for several weeks.”

Usage

Often used with 'of' or 'like' when followed by a noun.

Pitfall

The flowers smell beautifully.

The flowers smell beautiful.

When 'smell' describes a quality, use an adjective, not an adverb.

Synonyms

reek stink

05to seem suspicious

C1 · Advanced Informal

v. to feel like a situation is wrong or dishonest.

v. to suggest a particular quality or character, especially one that is suspicious or unpleasant.

“Something about his story smells fishy to me.”

“The sudden withdrawal of the lead investor smells of a desperate attempt to avoid a public scandal.”

Synonyms

seem appear

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.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

smelling(A1)

NOUN

smell(A2)

ADJECTIVE

smelly(A2)

code smell corky nastiest nose permeate permeated sense