smell

noun

• the faculty or power of perceiving odours or scents by means of the organs in the nose:a highly developed sense of smell dogs locate the bait by smell
• [count noun] a quality in something that is perceived by the faculty of smell; an odour or scent:lingering kitchen smells a smell of coffee
• an unpleasant odour:twenty-seven cats lived there—you can imagine the smell!
• an act of inhaling in order to ascertain an odour or scent:have a smell of this

verb (past and past participle smelt /smɛlt/ or smelled)

• 1 [with object] perceive or detect the odour or scent of (something):I think I can smell something burning [no object]:becoming deaf or blind or unable to smell
• sniff at (something) in order to perceive or detect its odour or scent:the dogs smell each other
• (smell something out) detect or discover something by the faculty of smell:his nose can smell out an animal from ten miles away
• detect or suspect (something) by means of instinct or intuition:he can smell trouble long before it gets serious he can smell out weakness in others

• 2 [no object] emit an odour or scent of a specified kind:the place smelled of damp [with complement]:the food smelt and tasted good (as adjective, in combination -smelling)a strong-smelling herb
• have a strong or unpleasant odour:if I don’t get a bath soon I’ll start to smell it smells in here
• appear in a certain way; be suggestive of something:it smells like a hoax to me