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⇱ odour - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

odour

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈəʊdər/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(ō′dər)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
o•dour  (ō′dər),USA pronunciation n. [Chiefly Brit.]
  1. British Termsodor.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
odour, US odor /ˈəʊdə/ n
  1. the property of a substance that gives it a characteristic scent or smell
  2. a pervasive quality about something: an odour of dishonesty
  3. repute or regard (in the phrases in good odour, in bad odour)
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French odur, from Latin odor; related to Latin olēre to smell, Greek ōzeinˈodourless, US ˈodorless adj
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
o•dor /ˈoʊdɚ/USA pronunciation   n. 
  1. the property of a substance that acts on the sense of smell;
    scent: [countable]: an unpleasant odor.[uncountable]full of odor.
Also,[esp. Brit.,] odour. 
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
o•dor  (ō′dər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. the property of a substance that activates the sense of smell:to have an unpleasant odor.
  2. Physiologya sensation perceived by the sense of smell;
    scent.
  3. an agreeable scent;
    fragrance.
  4. a disagreeable smell.
  5. a quality or property characteristic or suggestive of something:An odor of suspicion surrounded his testimony.
  6. repute:in bad odor with the whole community.
  7. [Archaic.]something that has a pleasant scent.
Also,[esp. Brit.,] odour. 
  • Latin
  • Old French
  • Middle English 1250–1300
o′dor•ful, adj. 
o′dor•less, adj. 
    3. . aroma, redolence, perfume. Odor, smell, scent, stench all refer to sensations perceived through the nose by the olfactory nerves. Odor and smell in literal contexts are often interchangeable. Figuratively, odor also usually occurs in positive contexts:the odor of sanctity.Smell is the most general and neutral of these two terms, deriving connotation generally from the context in which it is used:the tempting smell of fresh-baked bread; the rank smell of rotting vegetation.In figurative contexts smell may be either positive or negative:the sweet smell of success; a strong smell of duplicity pervading the affair.Scent refers either to delicate and pleasing aromas or to faint, barely perceptible smells:the scent of lilacs on the soft spring breeze; deer alarmed by the scent of man.Stench is strongly negative, referring both literally and figuratively to what is foul, sickening, or repulsive:the stench of rotting flesh; steeped in the stench of iniquity and treason.
'odour' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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