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smell
smell
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
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2009
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© The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information)
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smell
/ smel/
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n.
the faculty or power of perceiving odors or scents by means of the organs in the nose:
a highly developed sense of smell
dogs locate the bait by smell.
∎
a quality in something that is perceived by this faculty; an odor or scent:
lingering kitchen smells
a smell of coffee.
∎
an unpleasant odor:
twenty-seven cats lived there—you can imagine the smell!
∎ [in sing.]
an act of inhaling in order to ascertain an odor or scent:
have a smell of this.
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v.
(past and past part. smelled
or smelt
/ smelt/ )
1. [tr.]
perceive or detect the odor or scent of (something):
I think I can smell something burning.
∎
sniff at (something) in order to perceive or detect its odor or scent:
the dogs smell each other.
∎ [intr.]
have or use a sense of smell:
becoming deaf or blind or unable to smell.
∎ (smell something out)
detect or discover something by the faculty of smell:
his nose can smell out an animal from ten miles away.
∎
detect or suspect (something) by means of instinct or intuition:
he can smell trouble long before it gets serious
he can smell out weakness in others.
2. [intr.]
emit an odor or scent of a specified kind:
it smelled like cough medicine|
the food smelled and tasted good |
[as adj. , in comb.] (-smelling)
pungent-smelling food.
∎
have a strong or unpleasant odor:
if I don't get a bath soon I'll start to smell
it smells in here.
∎
appear in a certain way; be suggestive of something:
it smells like a hoax to me.
PHRASES:
smell blood
discern weakness or vulnerability in an opponent.
smell a rat inf.
suspect trickery or deception.
smell the roses inf.
enjoy or appreciate what is often ignored.
smell something up
permeate an area with a bad smell:
he smelled up the whole house.DERIVATIVES:
smell·a·ble
adj.
smell·er
n.
Cite this article
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Talking smells.(how animals use their sense of smell to communicate)
Magazine article from: Ranger Rick; 1/1/1995; ; 700+ words
; ...information from even tiny traces of smells. Other animals may use their super sense of smell to talk with each other...sniff out some clues. TINY SMELLS--BIG MESSAGES Many kinds...mones). These chemicals send smell-messages to other animals...
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Smells like rain.
Magazine article from: Weatherwise; 4/1/1996; ; 700+ words
; ...first raindrops fall, that "smell of rain" materializes. It...in the sights, sounds, and smells of an approaching storm. I...a hint of excitement. The smell I detected was distinct from...Was I reading more into the smell before a rain than meets the...
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Smell the internet
Newspaper article from: The Scotsman; 10/18/1999; ; 700+ words
; ...last week to bring smells to the internet...surfers with "Smell-O-Vision...create a world of smells for the internet...perfumes you can smell online, computer...Aroma-Rama and Smell-O-Vision, pumping smells through theatre...
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Smell, Taste Could Be Web Features
News Wire article from: AP Online; 4/30/2000; ; 700+ words
; ...device to produce smells based on data programmed...user to download a smell or taste from the...Here you go. Smell this,'' he offers. It smells like a strawberry...quality sound but smells distinct to the...of Oz' and you smell the poppies as...
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SMELL IS KEY TO WOMAN'S LIBIDO
News Wire article from: United Press International; 10/25/2001; 637 words
; ...United Press International 10-25-2001 Smell is key to woman's libido CATANIA, Italy...they take could be blocking their sense of smell. A team of Italian researchers at the...contraceptive use can blunt a woman's sense of smell, particularly during ovulation when sense...
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Smell is key to woman's libido.
News Wire article from: United Press International; 10/25/2001; 700+ words
; ...they take could be blocking their sense of smell. A team of Italian researchers at the University...contraceptive use can blunt a woman's sense of smell, particularly during ovulation when sense of smell is highest. Scientists came to this conclusion...
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 "The Daily Mail (London, England)")
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Smell your way through today; SELF.
Newspaper article from: The Daily Mail (London, England); 9/17/2001; ; 700+ words
; ...interested in mood smells for years. A citrus smell wafting round a...comforting or nostalgic smells that can change...restless, but the smell of it brewing is...Kipling said: "Smells are surer than...And our sense of smell is the secret behind...
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Smells like love: can your nose lead you to your Valentine?
Magazine article from: Science World; 2/19/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...Scientists have found that no two people smell things the same way. So what smells like roses to you may smell gross to others. Olfaction, or...turn, they influence what you smell like. So how a perfume smells on you depends on how it blends...
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Smell and taste function in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: effect of long-term oxygen via nasal cannulas.
Magazine article from: Chest; 3/1/1990; ; 700+ words
; ...nasal cannulas have an impaired sense of smell and/or taste. To objectively evaluate the sense of smell and taste, this study used the University...installation. Mean [+ or -] SD for the basic smell test was significantly greater in group 3...
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 "The Mail on Sunday (London, England)")
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Smell fruity and look slimmer.(News)
Newspaper article from: The Mail on Sunday (London, England); 4/12/2009; 700+ words
; ...banana and apple to smell when they felt hungry...participants were given bad smells they had a tendency...associations between smell and emotion before...womb remember the smells and show a preference...possibilities of what smell can help us do are...Remembrance Of Smells Past, ...
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Smell
Encyclopedia entry from: The Gale Encyclopedia of Science
Smell Smell is the ability of an organism to sense and identify a substance by detecting...substance that evaporates. Researchers have noted similarities in the sense of smell between widely differing species that reveal some of the details of how...
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smell
Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
...scent: lingering kitchen smells a smell of coffee. ∎...bath soon I'll start to smell it smells in here. ∎...suggestive of something: it smells like a hoax to me. PHRASES: smell blood discern weakness or...
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Taste and Smell
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of Aging
...aware that a decline in taste or smell acuity has occurred. Aging...substance in the air to detect a smell than do younger people. This...ability for a wide range of smells from pleasant to unpleasant...unchanged. Losing the ability to smell may affect the flavor and the...
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Smell, Sense of
Dictionary entry from: International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis
SMELL, SENSE OF Throughout his writings, Sigmund...explicit reference to the role of the sense of smell in mental sexuality. "Olfactory substances...feet and the hair are objects with a strong smell which have been exalted into fetishes after...
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taste and smell
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to the Body
taste and smell When we eat or drink we perceive...are respectively taste and smell. Chemoreceptors are not...coolness, acidity and exquisite smells – that make up the...chemical sense . The taste/smell system fulfils two separate...
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