smell

smell¹ W3S2 [smel] n

1.)

the quality that people and animals recognize by using their nose

smell of

▪ The air was filled with the smell of flowers.

sweet/delicious smell

▪ There's a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.

unpleasant/bad/acrid smell

▪ the acrid smell of smoke

strong/pungent smell

▪ a pungent smell of garlic

2.)

an unpleasant smell

▪ I think the smell's getting worse.

3.) [U]

the ability to notice or recognize smells

▪ loss of taste and smell

▪ Dogs have a very good sense of smell .

4.) [C usually singular]

an act of smelling something

▪ Have a smell of this cheese; does it seem all right?

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WORD FOCUS: smell

good smell: aroma, perfume, fragrance, scent

bad smell: stink, stench, odour (BrE) odor (AmE), whiff, pong (BrE)

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smell ²

smell² W3S2 v past tense and past participle smelled especially AmE or smelt [smelt] BrE

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1¦(notice a smell)¦

2¦(have a smell)¦

3¦(have a bad smell)¦

4¦(put your nose near something)¦

5¦(have ability)¦

6 smell trouble/danger etc

7 smell a rat

8 smell wrong/fishy/odd etc

Phrasal verbs

　smell somebody/something<=>out

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1.) ¦(NOTICE A SMELL)¦ [T not in progressive]

to notice or recognize a particular smell

▪ I can smell burning.

▪ Can you smell something?

2.) ¦(HAVE A SMELL)¦ [linking verb]

to have a particular smell

smell adj

▪ The stew smelled delicious .

▪ Mm! Something smells good !

smell like

▪ It smells like rotten eggs.

smell of BrE

▪ My clothes smelt of smoke.

sweet-smelling/foul-smelling etc

▪ sweet-smelling flowers

3.) ¦(HAVE A BAD SMELL)¦ [I not in progressive]

to have an unpleasant smell

▪ Your feet smell!

▪ The room smelled to high heaven (=had a very bad smell) .

4.) ¦(PUT YOUR NOSE NEAR SOMETHING)¦ [T]

to put your nose near something in order to discover what kind of smell it has

= ↑sniff

▪ She bent down and smelt the flowers.

5.) ¦(HAVE ABILITY)¦

to have the ability to notice and recognize smells

▪ I've got a cold and I can't smell.

6.) smell trouble/danger etc

to feel that something is going to happen, especially something bad

▪ Miller had smelled trouble the moment she said who she was.

7.) smell a rat [i]informal

to guess that something wrong or dishonest is happening

8.) smell wrong/fishy/odd etc informal

to seem dishonest or untrue

▪ The whole thing is beginning to smell fishy to me.

→come up/out smelling of roses at ↑rose¹ (6)

smell out [smell sb/sth<=>out] phr v

1.) to find something by smelling

= ↑sniff out

▪ They use dogs trained to smell out explosives.

2.) informal to find or recognize something because you have a natural ability to do this

= ↑sniff out

▪ They'll be able to smell out any corruption.

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GRAMMAR

You can say that something smells good, bad, strange etc.

!! Use an adjective, never an adverb : You smell wonderful (NOT wonderfully) - what perfume is that?

In British English, you can use smell with of to say what something smells like : Her jacket smelled of smoke (NOT smelled smoke).

If you say that something or someone smells , you mean they have a bad smell : Your socks smell.

If you can smell something or you smell something, you notice its smell : I can smell coffee. | We smelled smoke.

!! You do not say 'feel a smell'.

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