smell: meaning and words from its letters
5 letters · 7 letter points · starts with S · ends with L
Meaning of smell
noun
- countable, uncountable
A sensation, pleasant or unpleasant, detected by inhaling air (or, the case of water-breathing animals, water) carrying airborne molecules of a substance.
Example: I love the smell of fresh bread.
- countable, uncountable
The sense that detects odours.
- countable, uncountable
A conclusion or intuition that a situation is wrong, more complex than it seems, or otherwise inappropriate.
Listed forms: smells.
Source: Wiktionary — smell.
verb
- transitive
To sense a smell or smells.
Example: I can smell fresh bread.
- broadly, transitive
To sense a smell or smells. To detect or perceive; often with out.
- copulative, intransitive
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad.
Example: The roses smell lovely.
- broadly, copulative, intransitive
Followed by like or of if descriptive: to have a particular smell, whether good or bad. To smell of; to have a smell of
Listed forms: smells, smelling, smelled, smelt.
Source: Wiktionary — smell.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org. Selected senses and forms; quotations omitted. Definition text is CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms by meaning
Words are grouped by sense, so they are not necessarily interchangeable in every context. Search synonyms for smell.
noun
the sensation that results when olfactory receptors in the nose are stimulated by particular chemicals in gaseous form
noun
any property detected by the olfactory system
noun
the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
noun
the faculty that enables us to distinguish scents
- sense of smell
- olfaction
- olfactory modality
Open English WordNet Team, 2025, derived from Princeton University WordNet; selected synonym groups under CC BY 4.0. Source · OEWN notice · Princeton notice.
Is smell in our word lists?
| Word list | Status |
|---|---|
| American English | Found |
| British English | Found |
| Extended English | Found |
These are spelling-list matches, not official game validity checks. Check the rules and dictionary used by your game.
Letter-value score of smell
S(1) + M(3) + E(1) + L(1) + L(1) = 7 points.
This is a sum of letter values without board bonuses or word multipliers. A blank tile is worth zero: subtract the value of each letter supplied by a blank. The score does not establish game validity. Full letter-value table.
Anagrams of smell
0 other standard-list words use exactly these letters, including repeated letters.
No other single-word anagram was found in our standard list.
Shorter words from smell
14 shorter standard-list words can be made using no letter more often than it occurs in smell. Showing up to 24, longest first.