Meaning & use
cologne
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
A light, fresh-smelling liquid that people put on their skin to smell pleasant, with less strong scent than perfume.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: a splash of cologne. Use a bottle of cologne to count it.
Patterns
- wear cologne
- a bottle of cologne
- splash on cologne
He splashed on some cologne before leaving for the dinner.
The room smelled faintly of lemon cologne.
She bought him a bottle of cologne for his birthday.
Word forms
| plural | colognes |
|---|
Common combinations
- wear cologne
- My brother only wears cologne on special occasions.
- splash on cologne
- He splashed on cologne after shaving.
- a bottle of cologne
- There was an expensive bottle of cologne on the shelf.
- cologne spray
- She sprayed a little cologne spray on her scarf.
- citrus cologne
- A citrus cologne feels fresh in hot weather.
- strong cologne
- His strong cologne filled the elevator.
Synonyms and how they differ
- perfume
- Perfume has a higher concentration of scent oils, so it is stronger and lasts longer than cologne.
- aftershave
- Aftershave is applied to the face after shaving and often soothes the skin, while cologne is just for scent.
- eau de toilette
- Eau de toilette is the technical term for a lighter fragrance, and cologne is the older, even lighter kind.
- fragrance
- Fragrance is a broad word for any scent product and is used in marketing, while cologne names one specific type.
Word family
- eau de cologne noun
- the original full name for the light scented water
Commonly confused: cologne or Cologne?
cologne vs Cologne
Written with a capital C, Cologne is the German city (Köln) after which the scent was named.
Practice
Which product usually has the lightest concentration of scent?
Choose one answer.
Cologne has a low concentration of fragrance oils, so it is lighter and fades sooner. Perfume and extract are stronger and longer-lasting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cologne”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.