Word.ws English Dictionary

smells a rat

smells a rat is the third-person singular simple present indicative of smell a rat.

Meaning of smell a rat

Verb

smell a rat (third-person singular simple present smells a rat, present participle smelling a rat, simple past and past participle smelt a rat or smelled a rat)

  1. (idiomatic) To sense something suspicious.
    • Oh, Are you thereabouts, Sir; then I ſmell a Rat Ifaith; but I'll ſay nothing.1667 (revival performance), John Dryden, The Wild Gallant: A Comedy. […], In the Savoy [London]: […] T[homas] Newcomb for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1669, →OCLC, Act IV, page 45

Questions about smells a rat

What is smells a rat the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Smells a rat is the third-person singular simple present indicative of smell a rat.

Words near smells a rat in the dictionary

  1. smelling up
  2. smelling what someone is stepping in
  3. smellings
  4. smellproof
  5. smells
  6. smells a rat
  7. smells and bells
  8. smells blood
  9. smells fishy
  10. smells like a rose
  11. smells like a tart's bedroom

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smells a rat (page history and authors); smell a rat (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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