Meaning & use
smell
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The quality of something that you notice through your nose, whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Grammar: Countable when it names a particular odor: a strange smell.
Patterns
- the smell of something
The smell of fresh bread drifted from the bakery.
There was a strange smell in the basement.
I love the smell of rain on dry ground.
noununcountable
The ability to detect odors, one of the five senses.
Grammar: Uncountable when it names the sense: a keen sense of smell.
Patterns
- sense of smell
Dogs have a much better sense of smell than people.
A cold can temporarily affect your smell.
She lost her sense of smell after the illness.
verbtransitive
To notice or detect a scent using your nose.
Grammar: Takes an object and is often used with can: I can smell smoke.
Patterns
- smell something
Can you smell something burning?
I could smell the sea before I saw it.
The dog smelled the stranger at the door.
verblinking
To give off a particular scent, good or bad.
Grammar: Linking verb followed by an adjective or like: it smells good, it smells like fish.
Patterns
- smell of something
- smell like something
- smell good
The kitchen smells of garlic and onions.
Your perfume smells wonderful.
The old coat smelled musty.
Word forms
| third person singular | smells |
|---|---|
| past tense | smelled or smelt |
| past participle | smelled or smelt |
| -ing form | smelling |
| plural | smells |
Common combinations
- sense of smell
- Cats have a strong sense of smell.
- smell of
- The room smelled of lemons.
- strong smell
- A strong smell of gas filled the hall.
- smell a rat
- When the offer seemed too good, I began to smell a rat.
- smell good
- The soup smells good.
- pleasant smell
- The garden has a pleasant smell in spring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scent
- Scent is usually pleasant or traces left by an animal, while smell is neutral and covers bad odors too.
- odor
- Odor is more formal and often suggests an unpleasant smell.
- aroma
- Aroma refers to a pleasant, often food-related smell, which is narrower than smell.
- stink
- Stink is informal and only for a strongly bad smell.
Word family
Commonly confused: smell or smell good vs smell well?
smell vs smell good vs smell well
Use 'smells good' for an odor and 'smells well' only for someone with a good sense of smell, as in 'he smells well for a dog'.
Practice
The kitchen ___ wonderful after she baked the cake. Which choice is correct?
Choose one answer.
Smell is a linking verb here, so it takes the adjective wonderful. The adverb wonderfully would modify the action of smelling, which is not the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “smell”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.