SCENT

scent

(noun) an odor left in passing by which a person or animal can be traced

aroma, fragrance, perfume, scent

(noun) a distinctive odor that is pleasant

perfume, scent

(verb) apply perfume to; “She perfumes herself every day”

scent, nose, wind

(verb) catch the scent of; get wind of; “The dog nosed out the drugs”

odorize, odourise, scent

(verb) cause to smell or be smelly

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

scent (countable and uncountable, plural scents)

A distinctive odour or smell.

An odour left by an animal that may be used for tracing.

The sense of smell.

A perfume.

(figuratively) Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone, such as the paper left behind in a paperchase.

(obsolete) Sense, perception.

Usage notes

• Almost always applied to agreeable odors (fragrances).

Synonyms

• aroma

• fragrance

• nosegay

• odor

• perfume

• smell

Verb

scent (third-person singular simple present scents, present participle scenting, simple past and past participle scented)

(transitive) To detect the scent of; to discern by the sense of smell.

(transitive, figurative) To have a suspicion of.

(transitive) To impart an odour to.

(intransitive, archaic) To have a smell.

To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

Anagrams

• cents

Source: Wiktionary


Scent, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scented; p. pr. & vb. n. Scenting.] Etym: [Originally sent, fr. F. sentir to feel, to smell. See Sense.]

1. To perceive by the olfactory organs; to smell; as, to scent game, as a hound does. Methinks I scent the morning air. Shak.

2. To imbue or fill with odor; to perfume. Balm from a silver box distilled around, Shall all bedew the roots, and scent the sacred ground. Dryden.

Scent, v. i.

1. To have a smell. [Obs.] Thunderbolts . . . do scent strongly of brimstone. Holland.

2. To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

Scent, n.

1. That which, issuing from a body, affects the olfactory organs of animals; odor; smell; as, the scent of an orange, or of a rose; the scent of musk. With lavish hand diffuses scents ambrosial. prior.

2. Specifically, the odor left by an animal on the ground in passing over it; as, dogs find or lose the scent; hence, course of pursuit; track of discovery. He gained the observations of innumerable ages, and traveled upon the same scent into Ethiopia. Sir W. Temple.

3. The power of smelling; the sense of smell; as, a hound of nice scent; to divert the scent. I. Watts.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest iced coffee is 14,228.1 liters and was created by Caffé Bene (South Korea), in Yangju, South Korea, on 17 July 2014. They poured iced black Americano on the giant cup that measured 3.3 meters tall and 2.62 meters wide.

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