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Definition of perfume noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

perfume

noun
 
/ˈpɜːfjuːm/
 
/pərˈfjuːm/
[countable, uncountable]
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  1. a liquid, often made from flowers, that you put on your skin to make yourself smell nice synonym fragrance (2), scent (3)
    • a bottle of expensive perfume
    • We stock a wide range of perfumes.
    • the perfume counter of the store
    • She was wearing too much perfume.
    • There was strong smell of cheap perfume in the car.
    Extra Examples
    • He caught a faint whiff of her expensive perfume.
    • She dabbed some perfume on her wrists.
    • She reeked of cheap perfume.
    • She works on the perfume counter.
    • The letter had been sprayed with perfume.
    Topics Shoppingb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • expensive
    • cheap
    • strong
    … of perfume
    • bottle
    verb + perfume
    • use
    • wear
    • spray
    perfume + noun
    • bottle
    • oil
    • counter
    phrases
    • a waft of perfume
    • a whiff of perfume
    See full entry
  2. a pleasant, often sweet, smell synonym scent
    • the heady perfume of the roses
    Extra Examples
    • The perfume of the roses filled the room.
    • You could smell the perfume of the lilies.
    • The perfume of orange blossom filled the air.
    • The roses gave off a heady perfume.
    • The lilies release their heady perfume in the evening.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • sweet
    • heady
    • strong
    verb + perfume
    • smell
    perfume + verb
    • fill something
    See full entry
  3. Word Originmid 16th cent. (originally denoting pleasant-smelling smoke from a burning substance, especially one used in fumigation): from French parfum (noun), parfumer (verb), from obsolete Italian parfumare, literally ‘to smoke through’.
See perfume in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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