scent
a distinctive odor, especially when agreeable: the scent of roses.
an odor left in passing, by means of which an animal or person may be traced.
a track or trail as or as if indicated by such an odor: The dogs lost the scent and the prisoner escaped.
the sense of smell: a remarkably keen scent.
small pieces of paper dropped by the hares in the game of hare and hounds.
to perceive or recognize by or as if by the sense of smell: to scent trouble.
to fill with an odor; perfume.
to hunt by the sense of smell, as a hound.
Origin of scent
1synonym study For scent
Other words for scent
Other words from scent
- scentless, adjective
- scent·less·ness, noun
- non·scent·ed, adjective
- outscent, verb (used with object)
- o·ver·scent·ed, adjective
- un·scent·ed, adjective
- well-scented, adjective
Words that may be confused with scent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use scent in a sentence
Sage and sausage patty came next, served between cumin scented Buttermilk biscuits and smothered in a black pepper country gravy.
Dinner at Nitehawk Cinema: ‘Christmas Vacation’ and a Beer in a Pear Tree | Rich Goldstein | December 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe was obsessed with the flower-printed, scented toilet paper.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State | Lizzie Crocker | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTessie rose, unrolled her scented handkerchief, and taking a bit of gum from a knot in the hem, placed it in her mouth.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLast two words are written in invisible ink but can be easily discerned if Australian law books are held over scented candles.
Up to a Point: 2013 in Review and Predictions for 2014 | P. J. O’Rourke | January 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe fashionable gift was scented candles, some costing $150 each.
Up to a Point: 2013 in Review and Predictions for 2014 | P. J. O’Rourke | January 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The air was keen and scented, wafting the smell of the wooded islands that hung about us in the darkening air.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon BlackwoodThe most poignant test, however, came when port was reached and the scented land-wind met his nostrils with the—Spring.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodIn the tropics the tobacco field may be scented from afar, as its odors are wafted on the breeze.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.A scented note unopened on the dressing table can cause more unhappiness to your wife than the loss of his country to a king.
The Fifth String | John Philip SousaI looked up and there was a stag whose nostrils were quivering with excitement as if he scented the music.
Kari the Elephant | Dhan Gopal Mukerji
British Dictionary definitions for scent
/ (sɛnt) /
a distinctive smell, esp a pleasant one
a smell left in passing, by which a person or animal may be traced
a trail, clue, or guide
an instinctive ability for finding out or detecting
another word (esp Brit) for perfume
(tr) to recognize or be aware of by or as if by the smell
(tr) to have a suspicion of; detect: I scent foul play
(tr) to fill with odour or fragrance
(intr) (of hounds, etc) to hunt by the sense of smell
to smell (at): the dog scented the air
Origin of scent
1Derived forms of scent
- scented, adjective
- scentless, adjective
- scentlessness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with scent
see throw off, def. 3.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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