smelling (A1)
verb, noun
Pronunciation: /smɛl/
Definition
To perceive or notice a scent or odor through the nose.
Examples
I can smell gas in the kitchen.
Can you smell that? It smells like smoke.
She smelled the flowers and smiled.
How to Use smelling
- smell like (collocation)
- To have an odor that resembles something else. — "This cheese smells like old socks."
- smell of (collocation)
- To have the odor of a particular substance. — "The air smelled of pine needles and damp earth."
- smell a rat (idiom)
- To suspect that something is wrong or that someone is trying to deceive you. — "When he offered to do all the work for free, I smelled a rat."
- can't smell (collocation)
- To be unable to detect a scent. — "I can't smell anything, are you sure the oven is on?"
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