smell
A2Neutral, common in all registers from informal to formal (though specific uses may vary).
Definition
Meaning
To perceive or detect the scent or odour of something through the nose; a quality perceived by the sense of smell.
To emit or have an odour; to give off a specific scent (often negative). Figuratively: to suggest or detect something indirectly (e.g., 'smell trouble'); to have an intuitive sense of.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Can function as a verb (transitive/intransitive/copular), noun (countable/uncountable). Often neutral, but easily acquires negative connotations ('bad smell'). As a verb of perception, it behaves like 'see' and 'hear' (can take a bare infinitive in some constructions, e.g., 'I smell something burn/burning').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minimal lexical difference. In British English, 'smell' as a verb for emitting an odour is often used with 'of' ('It smells of roses'). In American English, 'smell like' is equally common for this sense. The noun 'smell' is slightly more likely to be used neutrally in British English (e.g., 'a nice smell'), where American might prefer 'scent' or 'aroma' for positive contexts.
Connotations
In both, the noun can be neutral, but often defaults to negative ('There's a smell in here'). British English may use 'pong' or 'whiff' informally for bad smells. American English might use 'stink' more readily as a noun.
Frequency
Very high frequency in both. Slight preference in American English for 'odor' in formal/technical contexts (e.g., scientific writing).
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
SV (intransitive): The milk smells.SVO (transitive): I can smell gas.SVC (copular + adjective): This smells awful.SVC (copular + of/like NP): It smells of smoke. / It smells like rain.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “smell a rat (suspect trickery)”
- “smell blood (sense vulnerability)”
- “come up/out smelling of roses (emerge with reputation intact)”
- “smell trouble”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare, except metaphorically ('We smell an opportunity') or in specific industries (food, cosmetics).
Academic
Used in psychology, neuroscience, chemistry, and sensory studies. Typically formal: 'olfaction', 'odorant detection' are more technical.
Everyday
Extremely common for describing food, environment, personal hygiene, warnings (gas).
Technical
In chemistry/biology: 'volatile compounds', 'olfactory receptors'. 'Smell' is often replaced by 'odor' in regulatory or scientific contexts.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- Can you smell the sea air?
- This cheese smells a bit off.
- The room smelt of old books.
- I think I can smell something burning.
American English
- Do you smell smoke?
- That smells really good!
- It smells like someone was cooking bacon.
- He could smell trouble coming from the meeting.
adverb
British English
- (Rare) She sniffed smellily at the perfume.
- (Common in compounds) The sweet-smelling air.
American English
- (Rare) He complained smellily about the garbage.
- (Common in compounds) foul-smelling waste.
adjective
British English
- (Not standard; use 'smelly') The bins are a bit smelly.
- (Participle) the sweet-smelling flowers.
American English
- (Not standard; use 'smelly') Your gym bag is smelly.
- (Participle) strong-smelling chemicals.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I smell coffee.
- The flower has a nice smell.
- This food smells bad.
- My dog smells the grass.
- Can you smell gas? We should call someone.
- There's a strange smell coming from the kitchen.
- The bakery smells of fresh bread.
- He smelled the milk to see if it was still good.
- The damp room smelled unmistakably of mould and neglect.
- I could smell a hint of her perfume as she walked past.
- Investors began to smell a rat when the financial reports were delayed.
- The air smelled clean and fresh after the storm.
- The politician's promises smelled of desperation to the seasoned journalists.
- His argument, though clever, ultimately smelled of sophistry.
- She could smell success on the horizon after the breakthrough.
- The novel's opening chapter smells heavily of Dickensian influence.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine the word 'smell' has two 'l's like two nostrils. 'Sm-ell' – what you do when something smells, you go 'sm...' then say 'ell' as in 'yell' because a bad smell might make you yell.
Conceptual Metaphor
SMELL IS INVESTIGATION / SUSPICION (e.g., 'smell out corruption', 'something smells fishy'). SMELL IS INTRUSION (e.g., 'the news smelled of propaganda').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Russian 'запах' is neutral, but English 'smell' often needs an adjective ('nice smell', 'bad smell') to avoid negative default. Confusion with 'feel' (чувствовать) – 'I smell fear' is not 'I feel fear'. The verb 'пахнуть' maps directly to 'smell of/like'. Avoid 'smell' for taste impressions.
Common Mistakes
- Incorrect: 'It smells well.' (Correct: 'It smells good.' – 'well' is for health/ability). Incorrect: 'I am smelling the flowers.' (Stative verb; prefer simple present 'I smell flowers' unless emphasizing act of sniffing). Incorrect preposition: 'It smells to paint.' (Correct: 'It smells of paint.').
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'smell' used metaphorically?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Primarily yes, when referring to the passive perception of an odour ('It smells good'). It can be dynamic when describing the active action of sniffing ('The dog is smelling every lamppost'), though this is less common.
'Smell' is the most general and neutral (but leans negative). 'Scent' is often pleasant or distinctive (perfume, animal trail). 'Odour' is more formal/technical and often unpleasant. 'Aroma' is strongly positive, used for food/drink.
Use 'smell of' for the source of the odour ('It smells of garlic'). Use 'smell like' for comparison ('It smells like a hospital'). Use 'smell + adjective' for quality ('It smells strange').
Yes. Uncountable: 'Smell is one of the five senses.' Countable: 'There are several smells in the air.' Usually, when referring to a specific instance or type, it's countable.