smell

/smɛl/

#8,288 of the most-used English words

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.
   "I love the smell of fresh bread."
2. The sense that detects odours.
3. A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.

Similar: olfaction, sense of smell

verb

1. To sense a smell or smells.
   "I can smell fresh bread."
2. Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.
   "Her feet smell of cheese."
3. (without a modifier) To smell bad; to stink.
   "Ew, this stuff smells."
4. To have a particular tincture or smack of any quality; to savour.
   "A report smells of calumny."

Similar: detect, sense, pong, reek, stink, whiff