smel

Noun

smell (countable and uncountable, plural smells)

1. A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
   • I love the smell of fresh bread.

   Synonyms:

   aroma, niff

2. The sense that detects odours.
   • In this interest we used the survey to obtain unique data about the memory-evoking power of smell. We found that the stronger the odor, the more likely it was to bring to mind a vivid memory.1987 October, Avery N. Gilbert and Charles J. Wysocki, “Results of the Smell Survey”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, page 524

   Synonyms:

   olfaction, sense of smell

3. A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.
   • I’m just saying, this has a bad smell to it.2018 February 8, Carl Schroers, chapter 8, in Wrestling with Time Lost, Lulu Press

See all 10 meanings of smell