Collocations for "smell"
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "smell" in context.
WordReference English Collocations © 2025
smell
ⓘMost examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.v
- smells [good, nice, bad, sweet, disgusting]
- smells like [smoke, roses, garbage, honey]
- the [cooking, kitchen, perfume] smells like
- smelled of [smoke, alcohol, cigarettes, gas, sweat]
- doesn't smell of anything
- his [feet, armpits, clothes] (really) smell
- your breath smells
- smell your breath
- [do, can] you smell [that, burning, smoke]?
- [couldn't, could barely] smell it
- cannot smell [anything, a thing]
- smell the scent of [success, victory]
- smell a [rat, conspiracy, traitor]
- stop [to, and] smell the roses
- wake up and smell the coffee
- smell and [taste, touch, hear, feel]
- a [fruity, flowery, sweet, musty, gassy] smell
- a [pungent, powerful, strong, lingering] smell
- a [horrible, pleasant, nasty, good] smell
- give the [dish, sauce, soup, meat] a smell
- [hate, love] the smell of [flowers, eggs, garlic]
- is a smell coming from the [bathroom, street, bedroom]
- the smell of [flowers] [filled, encompassed] the room
- the smell [came, originated, emanated] from (the socks)
- the smell of [smoke, fire, burning, gas]
- the (sweet) smell of [fame, revenge, vengeance, fortune, success, money]
- the smell of [danger, menace]
- the [sense, perception, ability] of smell
- a [kind, sort] of [burning, rotting] smell
'smell' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
agreeable
- armpit
- awake
- awful
- bacon
- bakery
- basil
- bean
- beet
- blood
- blossom
- breeze
- burning
- can
- coast
- cover
- creep
- cringe
- curry
- despise
- dill
- disgusting
- distinct
- distinctive
- drool
- dull
- faculty
- fennel
- foul
- fresh
- funky
- gag
- garlic
- ginger
- give
- gross
- hare
- harsh
- heather
- heightened
- human
- hungry
- intense
- keen
- landfill
- lick
- lingering
- lit
- love
- mistake