"smell" meaning in English

See smell in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /smɛl/ Audio: en-us-smell.ogg [US] Forms: smell [singular], smells [plural]
enPR: smĕl Head templates: {{noun}} [POS TABLE]
  1. The way a thing smells; the substance in the air that people can smell.
    Sense id: simple-smell-en-noun-poN3Uq0V

Verb

IPA: /smɛl/ Audio: en-us-smell.ogg [US] Forms: smelled [past], smelled [past, participle], smell [canonical], smells [third-person, singular], smelt [past], smelt [past, participle], smelling [present, participle]
enPR: smĕl Head templates: {{verb}} [POS TABLE], {{verb2|smell|smells|smelt|smelt|smelling}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If you smell something, you use the nose to sense it.
    Sense id: simple-smell-en-verb-ZqfJyeam
  2. If something smells, it gently put a substance that people can smell into the air.
    Sense id: simple-smell-en-verb-i9iz-5~t
     
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "smelled",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelled",
      "tags": [
        "past",
        "participle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smell",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smells",
      "tags": [
        "third-person",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelt",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelt",
      "tags": [
        "past",
        "participle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelling",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "participle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "verb"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "smell",
        "2": "smells",
        "3": "smelt",
        "4": "smelt",
        "5": "smelling"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "verb2"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She put her nose near the flowers and breathed in to smell them."
        },
        {
          "text": "She smelled the waste and felt sick."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If you smell something, you use the nose to sense it."
      ],
      "id": "simple-smell-en-verb-ZqfJyeam"
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The flowers smell very good."
        },
        {
          "text": "The waste smells bad."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something smells, it gently put a substance that people can smell into the air."
      ],
      "id": "simple-smell-en-verb-i9iz-5~t"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "smĕl"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/smɛl/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/smEl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-smell.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "smell"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "smell",
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smells",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The smell of the flowers is very good."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The way a thing smells; the substance in the air that people can smell."
      ],
      "id": "simple-smell-en-noun-poN3Uq0V"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "smĕl"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/smɛl/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/smEl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-smell.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "smell"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "smelled",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelled",
      "tags": [
        "past",
        "participle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smell",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smells",
      "tags": [
        "third-person",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelt",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelt",
      "tags": [
        "past",
        "participle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smelling",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "participle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "verb"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "smell",
        "2": "smells",
        "3": "smelt",
        "4": "smelt",
        "5": "smelling"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "verb2"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "She put her nose near the flowers and breathed in to smell them."
        },
        {
          "text": "She smelled the waste and felt sick."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If you smell something, you use the nose to sense it."
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The flowers smell very good."
        },
        {
          "text": "The waste smells bad."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something smells, it gently put a substance that people can smell into the air."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "smĕl"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/smɛl/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/smEl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-smell.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "smell"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "smell",
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "smells",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The smell of the flowers is very good."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The way a thing smells; the substance in the air that people can smell."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "smĕl"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/smɛl/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/smEl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-smell.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "smell"
}

Download raw JSONL data for smell meaning in English (1.6kB)

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-06 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2025-02-02 using wiktextract (0ee4b87 and 9dbd323). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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