TOP

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

scent

noun
 
/sent/
 
/sent/
Idioms
jump to other results
  1. [uncountable, countable] the pleasant smell that something has
    • The air was filled with the scent of wild flowers.
    • These flowers have no scent.
    Homophones cent | scent | sentcent   scent   sent
     
    /sent/
     
    /sent/
    • cent noun
      • Not one cent of their profits goes to charity.
    • scent noun
      • The delicious scent of freshly baked bread was wafting from the kitchen.
    • scent verb
      • The home side increase the pressure on them as they scent weakness.
    • sent noun (past tense, past participle of send)
      • I sent her a thank you letter.
    Extra Examples
    • From the vine outside came the scent of honey.
    • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.
    • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.
    • The scent of incense lingered in the air.
    • Apple blossom has a delicate scent.
    • the heavy scent of Indian cooking
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • heady
    • heavy
    • intoxicating
    • …
    verb + scent
    • have
    • be filled with
    • give off
    • …
    scent + verb
    • come
    • drift
    • waft
    • …
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable, countable, usually singular] the smell that a person or an animal leaves behind and that other animals such as dogs can follow synonym trail
    • The dogs must have lost her scent.
    • The cougar was on the scent of (= following the smell of) a mountain goat.
    Extra Examples
    • The dog was on the scent of a rabbit.
    • The hounds have the scent.
    • The cat had left its scent on the sofa.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • body
    • human
    • masculine
    • …
    verb + scent
    • be on
    • have
    • leave
    • …
    scent + noun
    • gland
    • mark
    • marking
    • …
    See full entry
  3. [uncountable] (especially British English) a liquid with a pleasant smell that you wear on your skin to make it smell nice synonym perfume (1), fragrance (2)
    • a bottle of scent
    • She dabbed some scent on her neck.
  4. [singular] scent of something the feeling that something is present or is going to happen very soon
    • The scent of victory was in the air.
    • There is an unmistakeable scent of recovery in the air.
    5. Word Originlate Middle English (denoting the sense of smell): from Old French sentir ‘perceive, smell’, from Latin sentire. The addition of -c- (in the 17th cent.) is unexplained.
Idioms
on the scent (of something)
  1. close to discovering something
    • Scientists are on the scent of a cure.
put/throw somebody off the scent
  1. to do something to stop somebody from finding you or discovering something
    • She changed taxis to throw her pursuers off the scent.
See scent in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: scent

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day