- smell
- [[t]sme̱l[/t]]
♦♦♦smells, smelling, smelled, smelt(American English usually uses the form smelled as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either smelled or smelt.)1) N-COUNT: oft N of n The smell of something is a quality it has which you become aware of when you breathe in through your nose.
...the smell of freshly baked bread.
...horrible smells...
What is your favourite smell?
2) N-UNCOUNT Your sense of smell is the ability that your nose has to detect things....people who lose their sense of smell.
3) V-LINK If something smells in a particular way, it has a quality which you become aware of through your nose.[V of n] The room smelled of lemons...
[V adj] It smells delicious.
[V like n] ...a crumbly black substance that smells like fresh soil. [Also V as if]
4) VERB If you say that something smells, you mean that it smells unpleasant.Ma threw that out. She said it smelled...
Do my feet smell?
5) VERB If you smell something, you become aware of it when you breathe in through your nose.[V n] As soon as we opened the front door we could smell the gas.
6) VERB If you smell something, you put your nose near it and breathe in, so that you can discover its smell.[V n] I took a fresh rose out of the vase on our table, and smelled it.
Syn:7) VERB If you smell something, you feel that it is likely to happen or be true.[V n] He knew virtually nothing about music but he could smell a hit.
English dictionary. 2008.
