besmell
besmell verb: to smell out; sniff about, around, or all over; investigate or check by smelling; detect a smell or a scent.
Verb
besmell (third-person singular simple present besmells, present participle besmelling, simple past and past participle besmelled or besmelt)
- To smell out; sniff about, around, or all over; investigate or check by smelling; detect a smell or a scent.
- I'll tell you News, Sirs, I carry a little Muist-box (which is the Word of GOD) in my Bosom, and when I meet with the ill Air of ill company, that's like to gar me Swarf, I besmell my self with the 'sweet lavour of it, and with the Name ...1708, Michael Bruce, Good news in evil times for fainting believers
- Juan positioned himself by the side of the building, peeked through an open window, and found the feast a sight to behold, and a scent to besmell.2012, George R.R. Washington, Alan Goldsher, A Game of Groans: A Sonnet of Slush and Soot
Forms of besmell
| third-person singular present | besmells |
|---|---|
| present participle | besmelling |
| past participle | besmelled |
| past | besmelled |
| past participle | besmelt |
| past | besmelt |
Origin of besmell
From be- + smell.
Questions about besmell
- What does besmell mean?
- Besmell means to smell out; sniff about, around, or all over; investigate or check by smelling; detect a smell or a scent.
- What part of speech is besmell?
- Besmell is a verb.
- What is the past tense of besmell?
- The past tense of besmell is besmelled.
Words near besmell in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: besmell (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “besmell.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/besmell. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.