scent out
scent out verb: to locate by following a scent.
Verb
scent out (third-person singular simple present scents out, present participle scenting out, simple past and past participle scented out)
- To locate by following a scent.
- To be plain, I much question whether the politician, who hath generally a good nose, hath not scented out somewhat of the utility of this practice.1749, Henry Fielding, chapter I, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV
- 'Be careful what you do,' rejoined another man's voice that I did not know, 'lest someone see you digging, and scent us out.'[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- sniff out
Synonyms of scent out
Forms of scent out
| third-person singular present | scents out |
|---|---|
| present participle | scenting out |
| past participle | scented out |
| past | scented out |
Questions about scent out
- What does scent out mean?
- Scent out means to locate by following a scent.
- What part of speech is scent out?
- Scent out is a verb.
- What is the past tense of scent out?
- The past tense of scent out is scented out.
Words near scent out in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: scent out (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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