smell out
To find or locate by smellTo find or locate by smell.
» This dog is trained to smell out drugs.
Dieser Hund ist darauf abgerichtet, Rauschgift zu erschnüffeln. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(transitive)To find or locate by smell.
(figuratively, transitive)To find out by prying.
I can smell out dishonesty from a mile away.
- become aware of not through the senses but instinctively
- recognize or detect by or as if by smelling
Examples
4 sentencesThis dog is trained to smell out drugs.
deDieser Hund ist darauf abgerichtet, Rauschgift zu erschnüffeln. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
I can't even describe the bad smell that came out of the kitchen.
He never does anything but she smells it out.
A putrid smell came up out of the hole in the ground.
ruИз дыры в земле раздавалось зловоние. — shanghainese
deEin fauliger Geruch kam aus dem Erdloch herauf. — Esperantostern
Forms
smells out, smelling out, smelled out, smelled out| Base form | smell out · to smell out |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | smells out |
| Present participle | smelling out |
| Past simple | smelled out / smelt out |
| Past participle | smelled out / smelt out |
irregular · Lesson
Phrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
5 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.