scent
Americannoun
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a distinctive odor, especially when agreeable.
the scent of roses.
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an odor left in passing, by means of which an animal or person may be traced.
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a track or trail as or as if indicated by such an odor.
The dogs lost the scent and the prisoner escaped.
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the sense of smell.
a remarkably keen scent.
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small pieces of paper dropped by the hares in the game of hare and hounds.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a distinctive smell, esp a pleasant one
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a smell left in passing, by which a person or animal may be traced
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a trail, clue, or guide
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an instinctive ability for finding out or detecting
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another word (esp Brit) for perfume
verb
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(tr) to recognize or be aware of by or as if by the smell
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(tr) to have a suspicion of; detect
I scent foul play
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(tr) to fill with odour or fragrance
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(intr) (of hounds, etc) to hunt by the sense of smell
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to smell (at)
the dog scented the air
Related Words
See odor.
Other Word Forms
- nonscented adjective
- outscent verb (used with object)
- overscented adjective
- scented adjective
- scentless adjective
- scentlessness noun
- unscented adjective
- well-scented adjective
Etymology
Origin of scent
First recorded in 1325–75; (verb) earlier sent, Middle English senten, from Middle French sentir “to smell,” from Latin sentīre, “to feel”; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the verb sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dior’s J’Adore Intense captures the scent of solar flowers — jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, violet — right before they burst into fruit.
From Los Angeles Times
The scent of “thunderstorm at the beach” competed with “rose garden” and “early morning café.”
From Literature
At the impact site, a fresh evergreen scent wafted through the air from cypress trees whose branches were blown off in the strike.
From Barron's
After these carriage rides, bouquets of “the richest and rarest” flowers arrived for Maggie, their seductive scent filling the bridal suite.
From Literature
Evgeny dissembles: “Nothing. It is perhaps the fragrant scent of a passing track team.”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
