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reek

 - 3 dictionary results

reek

  [reek]
Use reek in a Sentence
–noun
1. a strong, unpleasant smell.
2. vapor or steam.
–verb (used without object)
3. to smell strongly and unpleasantly.
4. to be strongly pervaded with something unpleasant or offensive.
5. to give off steam, smoke, etc.
6. to be wet with sweat, blood, etc.
–verb (used with object)
7. to give off; emit; exude.
8. to expose to or treat with smoke.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME rek(e), OE rēc smoke; c. G rauch, D rook, ON reykr; (v.) ME reken to smoke, steam, OE rēocan

Related forms:
reeker, noun
reek⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
reeky, adjective

Synonyms:
5. steam, smoke, fume.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reek
reek   (rēk)   
v.   reeked, reek·ing, reeks

v.   intr.

  1. To smoke, steam, or fume.

  2. To be pervaded by something unpleasant: "This document ... reeks of self-pity and self-deception" (Christopher Hitchens).

  3. To give off or become permeated with a strong unpleasant odor: "Grandma, who reeks of face powder and lilac water" (Garrison Keillor).

v.   tr.

  1. To emit or exude (smoke, for example).

  2. To process or treat by exposing to the action of smoke.

n.  

  1. A strong offensive odor; a stench. See Synonyms at stench.

  2. Vapor; steam.


[Middle English reken, to emit smoke, from Old English rēocan, and rēcan, to expose to smoke; see reug- in Indo-European roots.]
reek'er n., reek'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

reek  (n.)
O.E. rec (Anglian), riec (W.Saxon), "smoke from burning material," probably from O.N. reykr (cf. Reykjavik, lit. "smoky bay"), from P.Gmc. *raukiz (cf. O.Fris. rek, M.Du. rooc, O.H.G. rouh, Ger. Rauch "smoke, steam"), apparently not found outside Gmc. Sense of "stench" is attested 1659, via the notion of "that which rises." The verb is from O.E. recan (Anglian), reocan (W.Saxon), from P.Gmc. *reukanan (cf. Ger. rauchen "to smoke," riechen "to smell"). Originally "to emit smoke;" meaning "to emit a bad smell" is recorded from 1710.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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