smell

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++smell1 /smel/ ●●● S2 W3 noun  1  [countable]SMELL the quality that people and animals recognize by using their nose 气味smell of The air was filled with the smell of flowers. 空气中弥漫着花香。 What’s that horrible smell? 是什么味道，这么难闻？2  [countable]SMELL an unpleasant smell 难闻的气味，臭味 I think the smell’s getting worse. 我觉得这气味越来越难闻了。3  [uncountable]SMELL the ability to notice or recognize smells 嗅觉 loss of taste and smell 味觉和嗅觉的丧失 Dogs have a very good sense of smell. 狗的嗅觉非常灵敏。4  [countable usually singular]SMELL an act of smelling something 闻，嗅 Have a smell of this cheese; does it seem all right? 闻一闻这块干酪，没变味吧？ COLLOCATIONSadjectivesstrong 强烈的There was a strong smell of burning in the air. 空气中有股强烈的焦味。faint (=not strong) 微弱的I noticed a faint smell of perfume. 我闻到一股淡淡的香水味。overpowering (=very strong) 异常强烈的The smell of disinfectant was overpowering. 消毒剂的味道非常强烈。nice/pleasant/lovely 好闻的There was a lovely smell of fresh coffee. 有现磨咖啡的香味。bad/unpleasant/horrible etc 难闻的The smell in the shed was awful. 棚屋里的气味非常难闻。a strange/funny/odd smell 奇怪的气味What’s that funny smell? 是什么怪味？a sweet smell 芬芳的气味nShe liked the sweet smell of hay in the barn.a delicious smell (=a pleasant smell of food) 〔食物的〕香味nThere were delicious smells emanating from the kitchen. a sickly smell (=sweet and unpleasant) 甜腻的气味nthe sweet, sickly smell of decaying human flesha pungent smell formal (=strong and unpleasant) 刺鼻的气味nA pungent smell of garlic filled the air.an acrid smell (=strong and bitter) 刺激的气味nThe acrid smell of smoke clung about the place.a musty/stale/sour smell (=old and not fresh) 发霉/不新鲜/酸腐的气味nThe clothes in the wardrobe had a damp musty smell.verbshave a strong/sweet etc smell 有强烈的/芬芳的等气味The flowers had a lovely sweet smell. 这些花有一种很好闻的香味。nbe filled with a smellThe house was filled with the smell of baking bread.give off a smell (=produce a smell) 发出气味Rubber gives off a strong smell when it is burned. 橡胶燃烧时会发出强烈的气味。notice/smell a smell (also detect a smell formal) 闻到气味He detected a faint smell of blood. 他闻到淡淡的血腥味。a smell comes from somewhere (also a smell emanates from somewhere formal) 从某地飘来气味A delicious smell of baking came from the kitchen. 厨房飘来烤面包的香味。nHe was getting complaints about the smell emanating from his shop.a smell wafts somewhere (=moves there through the air) 某处飘着某种气味nThe smells wafting up the stairs from the kitchen were making her feel hungry.COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘feel the smell of something’. Say smell something. 不要说 ‘feel the smell of something’。 而要说 smell something。  THESAURUSsmell something that you can recognize by breathing in through your nose 气味the smell from the kitchen 厨房传来的味道What’s that awful smell? 那是什么味道,这么难闻？the sweet smell of roses 玫瑰的芳香whiff something that you smell for a short time 一阵气味He caught a whiff of her perfume. 他闻到她淡淡的香水味。a whiff of apple blossom 一阵苹果花香scent a smell – used especially about the pleasant smell from flowers, plants, or fruit. Also used about the smell left by an animal 〔尤指花、植物或水果的〕香气；〔动物的〕气味,臭迹The rose had a beautiful scent. 这玫瑰有股馨香。Cats use their scent to mark their territory. 猫用臭迹标明自己的领地。nthe sharp, dying scent of autumnnthe heady scent (=strong scent)of magnolias fragrance/perfume a pleasant smell, especially from flowers, plants, or fruit. Fragrance and perfume are more formal than scent 〔尤指花、植物或水果的〕芬芳,香气〔比scent正式〕the sweet perfume of the orange blossoms 橙子花的甜美芳香Each mango has its own special fragrance. 每一种芒果都有特殊的香气。aroma formal a pleasant smell from food or coffee 〔食物或咖啡的〕香味,香气the aroma of fresh coffee 现磨咖啡的香味The kitchen was filled with the aroma of mince pies. 厨房里弥漫着百果馅饼的香味。odour British English, odor American English formal an unpleasant smell 难闻的气味An unpleasant odour was coming from the dustbins. 垃圾桶里传来一股难闻的气味。the odor of stale tobacco smoke 污浊的香烟味pong British English informal an unpleasant smell 难闻的气味,臭气What’s that horrible pong? 那是什么臭味？stink/stench a very strong and unpleasant smell 恶臭I couldn’t get rid of the stink of sweat. 我除不掉那股汗臭味。The toilet gave off a terrible stench. 厕所里发出一股恶臭。

Examples from the Corpus

smell• There's a smell in here - open the window.• Rain wet de bags and de onions tek up a smell.• The stuffiness in the hold was made worse by the acrid smell of unwashed bodies.• Each wine has its own unique flavor and smell.• There was a bad smell coming from the cupboard.• A mole finds its food by smell alone.• We had the carpet cleaned, but we couldn't get rid of the musty smell.• Perfectly pure water has no smell.• When I was a kid I loved the seashore for its mix of beautiful, subtle colours and strong smells.• What's that smell? Is something burning?• Where's that smell coming from?• And it's not just the dizzying development and the smell of money that pervades the downtown area.• The food looked good, but the smell was awful.• I really hate the smell of stale beer.• The stench of the floor was close to him, the smell of vomit and of urine.• There was the smell of fermenting has and citrus blossoms and ginger lilies and bonemeal and sulphur-coated urea.• A little while later; his eyes shot open with the smell of frying meat.• The smells of dead fish and rotting garbage were more than he could stand.• The wonderful smells from the kitchen made her mouth water.smell of• The smell of baking bread filled the whole house.sense of smell• Blind people often have a much better sense of smell than other people.• A super-efficient sense of smell is no longer vital to our existence.• We do not have a very good sense of smell, and as a result we are often tactless when handling animals.• Her sense of smell has gone, along with her ability to taste, and her hearing isn't too reliable either.• Humans' sense of smell is not very well developed.• Pigs have a keen sense of smell, which is why they are used to find truffles.• They lose their keen sense of smell and direction when the wind picks up like this.• Smoking can really ruin a person's sense of smell.• A good example is the sense of smell.• The sense of smell is good.• Lindsay had solved the problem of trailering the stallions together by temporarily wrecking their communication through their sense of smell.• The first reasonably reliable and convincing learning task for Drosophila involved training them using just this sense of smell.smell2 ●●● S2 W3 verb (past tense and past participle smelled especially American English or smelt /smelt/ British English)  1  notice a smell 注意到有气味 [transitive]SMELL to notice or recognize a particular smell 闻出，闻到，嗅到can smell something I can smell burning. 我闻到烧焦的气味。 Can you smell something? 你闻到什么气味了吗？2  have a smell 有某种气味 [linking verb]SMELL to have a particular smell 有…气味，发出…气味smell good/sweet/delicious/fresh etc The stew smelled delicious. 这炖菜闻起来真香。 Mm! Something smells good! 呣！什么东西这么香！nsmell bad/funny/awful etcn The water smells funny.smell of/like something My clothes smelt of smoke. 我的衣服上有烟味。 It smells like rotten eggs. 这闻起来像臭鸡蛋。sweet-smelling/foul-smelling etc sweet-smelling flowers 气味芬芳的花朵n GRAMMAR: Linking verbsSmell is a linking verb in this meaning. It links the subject of the sentence with an adjective: The cream smells funny (=it has a strange smell).3  have a bad smell 有难闻气味 [intransitive]SMELL to have an unpleasant smell 发出臭气，有难闻的气味 Your feet smell! 你的脚好臭！ The room smelled to high heaven (=had a very bad smell). 这房间臭气熏天。4  put your nose near STH 把鼻子靠近某物 [transitive]SMELL to put your nose near something in order to discover what kind of smell it has 闻，嗅 SYN sniff She bent down and smelt the flowers. 她弯下腰闻了闻花儿。5  have ability 有能力 [intransitive]SMELL to have the ability to notice and recognize smells 有嗅觉 I’ve got a cold and I can’t smell. 我得了感冒，闻不出味道。6  smell trouble/danger etc PREDICTto feel that something is going to happen, especially something bad 感到有麻烦/有危险等 Miller had smelled trouble the moment she said who she was. 她一说她是谁，米勒就感觉到有麻烦了。7. smell a rat informalSUSPECT to guess that something wrong or dishonest is happening 怀疑事情不对头，感到其中有诈8  smell wrong/fishy/odd etc informalSEEM to seem dishonest or untrue 似乎不对劲/靠不住/奇怪等 The whole thing is beginning to smell fishy to me. 我开始感到这整件事有点可疑。9 smell something ↔ out phrasal verb a) SMELLto find something by smelling 闻出，嗅出 SYN sniff out They use dogs trained to smell out explosives. 他们使用受过训练能嗅出爆炸物的狗。b) informalFIND to find or recognize something because you have a natural ability to do this 感觉到，觉察到 SYN sniff out They’ll be able to smell out any corruption. 他们将能觉察到任何腐败行为。 → come up/out smelling of roses at rose1(6)5 GRAMMAR 语法• Use an adjective after smell, not an adverb, to say that something has a good, bad, or strange smell. 表示某物的气味如何,在 smell 之后用形容词,不要用副词The house smelled awful (NOT awfully).这房子里有股臭味。• You can use smell with of to say what has given something a smell. 表示某物有某种气味,用 smell ofHer breath smelled of onions (NOT smelled onions).她嘴里有股洋葱味儿。• You can use smell with like to say that something has the same kind of smell as something else. 表示某物闻起来像什么,用 smell likea glass of wine that smelled like flowers一杯闻着有花香的葡萄酒• If you say that something or someone smells , you always mean they have a bad smell. 如果说某物或某人 smells ,意思是他们发出了臭味Your socks smell.你的袜子有臭味。• To say that someone notices a smell, use can smell or just smell , followed by a noun . 表示某人闻到某种气味,用 can smell ,或者就用 smell ,其后跟名词I can smell coffee.我闻到了咖啡的味道。We smelled smoke.我们闻到了烟味。n COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: to have a particular smell 有…气味，发出…气味adjectivessmell good/nice etcThe food smelled good.smell deliciousThat soup smells delicious.smell freshRub your chopping board with lemon to keep it smelling fresh.smell sweetA ripe melon will smell sweet.smell bad/awful etcCigarettes make your clothes smell awful.smell funny/strangeThis place smells funny sometimes.adverbssmell strongly of somethingThe man smelled strongly of alcohol.smell faintly of somethingHis suit smelled faintly of tobacco.n GRAMMAR: Using the progressive• The verb smell is not usually used in the progressive. You say: I smell gas.That smells nice. ✗Don’t say: I am smelling gas. | That is smelling nice.• You often say someone can smell something when describing what they smell: I can smell gas.I could smell her perfume.• The present participle smelling is used to form adjectives such as sweet-smelling and foul-smelling.→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

smell• Take the garbage out before it starts to smell.• We need to clean the cat's litter box - it's starting to smell.• Look for their Hair Glistener - it leaves hair smelling irresistible and creates subtle, glittering highlights in your hair.• Does my breath smell?• He could even smell a packet of cigarettes hidden in a coat pocket several metres away!• Not only does he smell bad - he's mean and ugly too.• The snow smelled clean, but like a hospital.• Trouble is, my tenant on the second floor can smell coffee from my kitchen on the first floor.• He thought he could smell dope; grass or resin fumes.• If you smell gas in the apartment, call this number immediately.• Diane smelled his breath to see if he'd been drinking.• The meat smelled horrible, and I refused to eat it.• It smells like a hospital in here - has someone been using disinfectant?• This hand cream smells lovely, what's it called?• I swear I haven't had anything to drink. Smell my breath.• She smelled of alcohol and was unsteady on her feet.• The house whole house smells of garlic - what are you cooking?• Do you smell smoke?• I can smell something burning - are you sure you turned the oven off?• Many people like the taste of jackfruit, but it smells terrible.• Hoist your honker to the skies and smell the burning charcoal and dripping, burning fat.• She could smell the chemical effluent off the agricultural land: she couldn't remember having noticed that stench before.• For one shot, he zooms in over a sawmill, low enough to smell the fresh-cut lumber.• Smell these roses - aren't they lovely?smell of/like something• Your perfume smells like roses.

smell1 noun →COLLOCATIONS1 →THESAURUS1smell2 verb →n GRAMMAR1 →5 GRAMMAR2
→n GRAMMAR3 →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChinese  

quality animals the recognize that Corpus people and by

smell

I

smell¹ S2 W3 /smel/ noun
1. [countable] the quality that people and animals recognize by using their nose
    smell of
    The air was filled with the smell of flowers.
    What’s that horrible smell?
2. [countable] an unpleasant smell:
    I think the smell’s getting worse.
3. [uncountable] the ability to notice or recognize smells:
    loss of taste and smell
    Dogs have a very good sense of smell.
4. [countable usually singular] an act of smelling something:
    Have a smell of this cheese; does it seem all right?
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives
   ▪ strong There was a strong smell of burning in the air.
   ▪ faint (=not strong) I noticed a faint smell of perfume.
   ▪ overpowering (=very strong) The smell of disinfectant was overpowering.
   ▪ nice/pleasant/lovely There was a lovely smell of fresh coffee.
   ▪ bad/unpleasant/horrible etc The smell in the shed was awful.
   ▪ a strange/funny/odd smell What’s that funny smell?
   ▪ a sweet smell She liked the sweet smell of hay in the barn.
   ▪ a delicious smell (=a pleasant smell of food) There were delicious smells emanating from the kitchen.
   ▪ a sickly smell (=sweet and unpleasant) the sweet, sickly smell of decaying human flesh
   ▪ a pungent smell formal (=strong and unpleasant) A pungent smell of garlic filled the air.
   ▪ an acrid smell (=strong and bitter) The acrid smell of smoke clung about the place.
   ▪ a musty/stale/sour smell (=old and not fresh) The clothes in the wardrobe had a damp musty smell.
■ verbs
   ▪ have a strong/sweet etc smell The flowers had a lovely sweet smell.
   ▪ be filled with a smell The house was filled with the smell of baking bread.
   ▪ give off a smell (=produce a smell) Rubber gives off a strong smell when it is burned.
   ▪ notice/smell a smell (also detect a smell formal) He detected a faint smell of blood.
   ▪ a smell comes from somewhere (also a smell emanates from somewhere formal) A delicious smell of baking came from the kitchen. | He was getting complaints about the smell emanating from his shop.
   ▪ a smell wafts somewhere (=moves there through the air) The smells wafting up the stairs from the kitchen were making her feel hungry.
■ COMMON ERRORS
    ► Do not say 'feel the smell of something'. Say smell something.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ smell something that you can recognize by breathing in through your nose: the smell from the kitchen | What’s that awful smell? | the sweet smell of roses
   ▪ whiff something that you smell for a short time: He caught a whiff of her perfume. | a whiff of apple blossom
   ▪ scent a smell – used especially about the pleasant smell from flowers, plants, or fruit. Also used about the smell left by an animal: The rose had a beautiful scent. | Cats use their scent to mark their territory. | the sharp, dying scent of autumn | the heady scent (=strong scent)of magnolias
   ▪ fragrance/perfume a pleasant smell, especially from flowers, plants, or fruit. Fragrance and perfume are more formal than scent: the sweet perfume of the orange blossoms | Each mango has its own special fragrance.
   ▪ aroma formal a pleasant smell from food or coffee: the aroma of fresh coffee | The kitchen was filled with the aroma of mince pies.
   ▪ odour British English, odor American English formal an unpleasant smell: An unpleasant odour was coming from the dustbins. | the odor of stale tobacco smoke
   ▪ pong British English informal an unpleasant smell: What’s that horrible pong?
   ▪ stink/stench a very strong and unpleasant smell: I couldn’t get rid of the stink of sweat. | The toilet gave off a terrible stench.

II

smell² S2 W3 verb (past tense and past participle smelled especially American English or smelt /smelt/ British English)
1.  NOTICE A SMELL  [transitive 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 of
    My clothes smelt of smoke.
    smell like
    It smells like rotten eggs.
    sweet-smelling/foul-smelling etc
    sweet-smelling flowers
3.  HAVE A BAD SMELL  [intransitive 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  [transitive] to put your nose near something in order to discover what kind of smell it has
   SYN  sniff:
    She bent down and smelt the flowers.
5.  HAVE ABILITY  [intransitive] 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 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)
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 2)

■ adjectives
   ▪ smell good/nice etc The food smelled good.
   ▪ smell delicious That soup smells delicious.
   ▪ smell fresh Rub your chopping board with lemon to keep it smelling fresh.
   ▪ smell sweet A ripe melon will smell sweet.
   ▪ smell bad/awful etc Cigarettes make your clothes smell awful.
   ▪ smell funny/strange This place smells funny sometimes.
■ adverbs
   ▪ smell strongly of something The man smelled strongly of alcohol.
   ▪ smell faintly of something His suit smelled faintly of tobacco.
     
GRAMMAR
  Use an adjective after smell, not an adverb, to say that something has a good, bad, or strange smell:
  ▪ The house smelled awful (NOT awfully).
  You can use smell with of to say what has given something a smell:
  ▪ Her breath smelled of onions (NOT smelled onions).
  You can use smell with like to say that something has the same kind of smell as something else:
  ▪ a glass of wine that smelled like flowers
  If you say that something or someone smells, you always mean they have a bad smell:
  ▪ Your socks smell.
  To say that someone notices a smell, use can smell or just smell, followed by a noun:
  ▪ I can smell coffee.
  ▪ We smelled smoke.
     
smell something ↔ out phrasal verb
  1. to find something by smelling
   SYN  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
   SYN  sniff out:
    They’ll be able to smell out any corruption.