smell

[smel] /smɛl/
verb (used with object), smelled or smelt, smelling.
1.
to perceive the odor or scent of through the nose by means of the olfactory nerves; inhale the odor of:
I smell something burning.
2.
to test by the sense of smell:
She smelled the meat to see if it was fresh.
3.
to perceive, detect, or discover by shrewdness or sagacity:
The detective smelled foul play.
verb (used without object), smelled or smelt, smelling.
4.
to perceive something by its odor or scent.
5.
to search or investigate (followed by around or about).
6.
to give off or have an odor or scent:
Do the yellow roses smell?
7.
to give out an offensive odor; stink.
8.
to have a particular odor (followed by of):
My hands smell of fish.
9.
to have a trace or suggestion (followed by of).
10.
Informal. to be of inferior quality; stink:
The play is good, but the direction smells.
11.
Informal. to have the appearance or a suggestion of guilt or corruption:
They may be honest, but the whole situation smells.
noun
12.
the sense of smell; faculty of smelling.
13.
the quality of a thing that is or may be smelled; odor; scent.
14.
a trace or suggestion.
15.
an act or instance of smelling.
16.
a pervading appearance, character, quality, or influence:
the smell of money.
Verb phrases
17.
smell out, to look for or detect as if by smelling; search out:
to smell out enemy spies.
18.
smell up, to fill with an offensive odor; stink up:
The garbage smelled up the yard.
Idioms
19.
smell a rat. rat (def 6).
Origin
1125-75; early Middle English smell, smull (noun), smellen, smullen (v.) < ?
Related forms
smellable, adjective
smell-less, adjective
outsmell, verb (used with object), outsmelled or outsmelt, outsmelling.
unsmelled, adjective
unsmelling, adjective
Synonyms
13. See odor.
British Dictionary definitions for smell up

smell

/smɛl/
verb smells, smelling, smelt, smelled
1.
(transitive) to perceive the scent or odour of (a substance) by means of the olfactory nerves
2.
(copula) to have a specified smell; appear to the sense of smell to be: the beaches smell of seaweed, some tobacco smells very sweet
3.
(intransitive) often foll by of. to emit an odour (of): the park smells of flowers
4.
(intransitive) to emit an unpleasant odour; stink
5.
(transitive) often foll by out. to detect through shrewdness or instinct
6.
(intransitive) to have or use the sense of smell; sniff
7.
(intransitive) foll by of. to give indications (of): he smells of money
8.
(intransitive; foll by around, about, etc) to search, investigate, or pry
9.
(copula) to be or seem to be untrustworthy or corrupt
10.
smell a rat, to detect something suspicious
noun
11.
that sense (olfaction) by which scents or odours are perceived related adjective olfactory
12.
anything detected by the sense of smell; odour; scent
13.
a trace or indication
14.
the act or an instance of smelling
Derived Forms
smeller, noun
Word Origin
C12: of uncertain origin; compare Middle Dutch smölen to scorch
Word Origin and History for smell up

smell

v.

late 12c., "emit or perceive an odor," not found in Old English, perhaps cognate with Middle Dutch smolen, Low German smelen "to smolder" (see smolder). However, OED says "no doubt of Old English origin, but not recorded, and not represented in any of the cognate languages." Related: Smelled or smelt; smelling.

Smelling salts (1840), used to revive the woozy, typically were a scented preparation of carbonate of ammonia. Smell-feast (n.) "one who finds and frequents good tables, one who scents out where free food is to be had" is from 1510s ("very common" c.1540-1700, OED). Smell-smock "licentious man" was in use c.1550-c.1900. To smell a rat "be suspicious" is from 1540s.

n.

"odor, aroma, stench," late 12c.; "faculty of perceiving by the nose," c.1200; see smell (v.). Ousted Old English stenc (see stench) in most senses.

smell up in Medicine

smell (směl)
v. smelled or smelt (smělt), smell·ing, smells
To perceive the scent of something by means of the olfactory nerves. n.
The sense by which odors are perceived; the olfactory sense.

Slang definitions & phrases for smell up

smell

verb
  1. To be nasty and contemptible; stink, suck: The whole damn situation smells (1933+)
  2. To take narcotics by inhaling; sniff: You must be smelling the stuff (1949+)

Idioms and Phrases with smell up

smell up

Also, stink up. Cause a bad odor, as in These onions smell up the whole house, or Your old sneakers are stinking up the closet; throw them out. [ Mid-1900s ]

smell

also see:
Encyclopedia Article for smell up

smell

the detection and identification by sensory organs of airborne chemicals. The concept of smell, as it applies to humans, becomes less distinct when invertebrates and lower vertebrates (fish and amphibians) are considered, because many lower animals detect chemicals in the environment by means of receptors in various locations on the body, and no invertebrate possesses a chemoreceptive structure resembling the vertebrate nasal cavity. For this reason, many authorities prefer to regard smell as distance chemoreception and taste as contact chemoreception.

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