Origin:
1325–75; (v.) earlier sent, Middle English senten < Middle French sentir to smell < Latin sentīre to feel; (noun) Middle English, derivative of the v. Compare sense

Related forms

scent·less, adjective

scent·less·ness, noun

non·scent·ed, adjective

out·scent, verb (used with object)

o·ver·scent·ed, adjective

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un·scent·ed, adjective

well-scent·ed, adjective

COLLAPSE

Can be confused: cents, scents, sense (see synonym note at sense).

Synonyms
1. See odor. 7. smell, sniff.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To scent

Example Sentences

Schiffman has found practical applications for her studies on scent.

The scent of raw sewage pervades the stairwell's dank air.

Scientists are also trying to lure male pythons into traps using the scent that females emit at breeding time.

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Schiffman has found practical applications for her studies on scent.

The scent of raw sewage pervades the stairwell's dank air.

Scientists are also trying to lure male pythons into traps using the scent that females emit at breeding time.

Small clusters of inconspicuous, cone-shaped flowers are spicily perfumed with a heavy, sweet scent.

Study helps puncture myth that scent is a weak sense in avian world.

Others say it's slightly sweet and peppery, musky, or has a flowery scent.

The scent of daphne is always the first scent of spring around my neighborhood.

Animals hunt for prey using, among other things, scent.

Codes in the scent software tell the hardware what scent to manufacture.

Like a well-aged wine, ice-age excrement gives off a smooth scent that is not unpleasant to the nose.

But don't overdo it-the public is wiser than the glitterati, and will soon scent a crude attempt to buy popularity.

Ring-tailed lemurs have powerful scent glands and use their unique odor as a communication tool and even as a kind of weapon.

The myth derives from the belief that birds can detect human scent.

Their stench has been compared to the scent of a thousand dead elephants rotting in the sun.

There is something about the spicy sweet scent that makes me positively giddy.

But males do exude the scent when grabbed by another male.

Put one on a table beside a chair, and its heady scent gives huge pleasure to anyone who sits there.

It's only acceptable if it's your scent on the paper.

They may find one another by following the trail of scent each enormous animal leaves behind it on the landscape.

Although a sweet voice and special scent may complete the package, humans depend largely on vision to identify their partners.

When it's time to mate, males and females locate one another through scent.

The scent of garlic sizzling in a skillet always makes your mouth water.

The unmistakable scent of rain comes from bacteria, not clouds.

It smells of clean mushroom, damp green birch leaf and the wet, vivid scent you get on spring evenings before storms.

I've lost my mind over others whose scent was justindescribable.

Scent is one method, another is physical appearance.

Sobel's team administered one scent at a time to determine the responsive portions of the nasal lining.

Hippos have poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell, and he's caught our scent.

Most rhododendrons that have small leaves have a rich, totally unexpected piney scent that you'll love.

Sometimes, an old t-shirt with your scent will calm her.

Some trainers and researchers think they detect subtle changes in human behavior or scent before an episode occurs.

Now our best-friend biosensors might have a new task: ferretting out the scent of bird flu.

Jars of skin cream still bore the scent of coconuts, and flasks of perfume exuded essence of rose.

Foliage emits an odd scent when crushed, reminiscent of orange peel.

It has also been identified as a key component of the scent of goat meat and goat milk.

When the bacon is cooked, a fan inside the alarm clock blows the scent through the pig's nose.

As more ants travel the path, the scent becomes stronger and easier to follow.

Autumn in the greenhouses arrives with the sweet scent of citrus plants in bloom, followed by the arrival of their fruit.

Yes, you'll go bananas for these huge, deep yellow semidouble blooms with a slightly spicy scent.

The cadaver dogs clambering through the wreckage had a hard time picking up the scent of bodies because of the ash.

During the first eight hours, the bloom emits a scent similar to rotting eggs or a dead animal.

They also lay with their heads facing into the winds for their scent glands to pick up the smells in the airway.

The aroma and taste is with me still and a bowl full in my kitchen, would scent the whole of my apartment.

The mountains are dotted with snow-laden ponderosas, and the crisp air carries the scent of pine.

Disposables are more convenient, but they have a slight oily scent.

Underwater, a shark needs its superior sense of smell to follow the scent of a fishy morsel.

In fact, sometimes winemakers age their product in toasted barrels specifically to capture the scent.

Leaves have strong peppery scent that some people find offensive.

Unilever claims the scent will drive the ladies crazy.

Bergamot has a fresh, citrus scent, and lavender has a soft floral scent.

Platta planted roses and sweet peas for seasonal color and scent.

Lavendryad is devoted solely to the sweet, herbal scent of lavender.

It can also emit a powerful stink from its scent glands.

The searing orange color and strong aromatic scent make is especially exotic.

The moon is full and high, and the humid air carries the scent of woods and fields.

The mucus inside the male elephant's trunk helps deliver a concentrated whiff of the seductive scent.

Small, light green leaves have a lovely lemon-basil scent.

Its mother can distinguish it from hundreds of others by scent alone.

Gardenia, plumeria, and tuberose blooms fill the air with their heady scent.

These monkeys also communicate by marking their territories with scent.

Flowers have scent of violets, are excellent for fresh or dry arrangements.

The snake sticks out its tongue to pick up scent particles.

And what it lacks in color at the moment it makes up for in scent.

It emits a nasty scent which attracts egg-laying flies.

When high concentrations of shark scent were introduced to the tanks, there was no noticeable increase in bubbles or sound.

As the name suggests, these canines hunt by sight rather than scent.

These scent posts are meant to inform others of a cat's home range.

And an un-spayed female dog can show defensive behavior when surrounded by males dogs who have picked up her scent.

One cage contained the scent of another male, while the other cage did not.

The quality of superniche scent collections varies hugely.

And if no one smells the roses, they don't have scent.

The pungent scent of the meat market, a favourite spot with nocturnal revellers, wafts upwards.

Scientists already know that scent plays a huge role.

Crayola crayons take us all back with their fondly remembered look, scent and feel on paper.

Typically, the only time scent becomes an element of an operatic experience is when.

Get something that has a nice not overpowering scent.

It might be biologically hard-wired into women who are literally able to sniff out the scent.

The scent of petrol is coming from an oil spill that happened last month.

The caravanners' horses are stabled there: a rural scent is in the air.

Never knowing the scent of freshly brewed coffee, pine.

My own beagle instantly swarmed over that bag on my arrival home, so clearly the scent was getting out.

In the case of the bucket orchids, its strong scent attracts bees that then slip into its pollen-filled bucket.

Its heady sweet scent is my favorite floral perfume, and the soft.

It even comes with a weed scent in the interior so that the dirty hippies that drive it feel right at home.

It is the diffusion process that spreads the scent of a perfume in a room without air circulation:.

The comfort of a warm bowl, the scent billowing from a savory sauce, and the toothsome bite of perfectly.

The scent of processed meat quickly slid under the doors of my neighbors as my meal baked.

The scent of blood and infection combined with the noisy calls of ravens eventually lured.

Pubic hair is indeed part of a scent gland system of the human integument.

The scent of one person can spook shy creatures for miles around, which is when camera traps come in handy.

Other dogs seek out human scent in a specific area.

The kiwi's distinctive scent comes from the wax it secretes to preen its feathers.

You'll learn that pretty quick if you let what you're hunting catch sight or scent of you.

But the spider cannot use that colony's scent to fool a different.

Soak the rinds of your citrus fruits in water for several days to infuse the scent in the water.

Sound, motion and scent are all integrated into the experience.

Chocolate mint, because its leaves recall the scent and taste of a.

Ants find the shortest route between two points and mark it with a scent for others to follow.

Females also exhibit close parental care and lay scent trails to help their young locate winter hibernation dens.

The scent of something not only prepares us for eating.

But the moisture stained the soft soil at the trailhead a dove gray and spiced the air with the scent of ponderosa pine.

But somehow the same scent isn't so attractive in an ornamental plant.

Through this direct study, he has learned how to communicate with the wolves and defend himself through scent and sounds.

The scent of lemon and a brilliant blue sky are the norm here.

The breeze-blown scent of the young male's mother, so comforting to him when he was a cub, no longer binds him to his home.

Or, the dung may serve to camouflage from predators the scent of eggs or chicks.

Its petals are often strewn in the bride's path at weddings so the bloom's delicate scent is always present.

For example, try two drops spearmint extract and two drops eucalyptus extract to create an invigorating scent.

The team set a trap baited with fresh penguin meat in an area where trained dogs had detected concentrated rodent scent.

Salt air blends with the scent of hot wax emanating from the batik-maker's shop, little more than a beachside shack.

In the evening a man pushes his steaming cart down my street and the air is filled with the scent of sweet potatoes and bananas.

So they put out a scent that attracts these flying insects.

Watch rescue dogs trained to bark when they pick up the scent of disaster.

Today the scent of pine and juniper floats in the morning air under a blue sky.

It carries the scent of wild mint and prairie roses.

There is a damp, heavy scent of earth and an absolute stillness.

The results of heat and effort will always win out over the fickle scent of laundry detergent.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

scent (sɛnt)

—n
1.	a distinctive smell, esp a pleasant one
2.	a smell left in passing, by which a person or animal may be traced
3.	a trail, clue, or guide
4.	an instinctive ability for finding out or detecting
5.	another word (esp Brit) for perfume

—vb
6.	(tr) to recognize or be aware of by or as if by the smell
7.	(tr) to have a suspicion of; detect: I scent foul play
8.	(tr) to fill with odour or fragrance
9.	(intr) (of hounds, etc) to hunt by the sense of smell
10.	to smell (at): the dog scented the air

[C14: from Old French sentir to sense, from Latin sentīre to feel; see sense]

'scented

—*adj*

'scentless

—*adj*

'scentlessness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

scent

c.1400, from O.Fr. sentir "to feel, perceive, smell," from L. sentire " to feel, perceive, sense" (see sense). Originally a hunting term. The -c- appeared 17c., perhaps by influence of ascent, descent, etc., or by influence of science. The noun is first recorded late 14c.

EXPAND

Almost always applied to agreeable odors.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

scent

see throw off, def. 3.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

scent

the property of certain substances, in very small concentrations, to stimulate chemical sense receptors that sample the air or water surrounding an animal. In insects and other invertebrates and in aquatic animals, the perception of small chemical concentrations often merges with perception via contact of heavy concentrations (taste), and with other chemoreceptive specializations. See also smell.

Learn more about scent with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Related Words

check course drag smell trail wind

cast challenge hark odor perfume scent-mark

Idioms & Phrases

throw off

Matching Quote

"A man has his distinctive personal scent which his wife, his children and his dog can recognize. A crowd has a generalized stink. The public is odorless."

-W.H. Auden

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