odour

UK/ˈəʊ.də/US/ˈoʊ.dɚ/

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,924 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: odours

An odour is a smell, usually an unpleasant one. A strong odour, body odour, an odour of damp.

The word leans negative in a way that smell does not, which is why an advertisement says odour and never fragrance when it is about removing something. Americans spell it odor. An odour of sanctity is an old phrase meaning a reputation for holiness.

Definitions of odour

1nounodourA smell, usually an unpleasant one.B2+
“An unpleasant odour was coming from the drains.”

odour is a smell.

Also accepted in games: odor

Where it comes from

Proto-Indo-European
*h₃ed- (smell)
Latin
odor
Old French
odor
Anglo-Norman
odour
Middle English
odour
English
odor
English, today
odour

odor comes from Middle English odour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman odour, from Old French odor, from Latin odor. 2

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Texture & Touch

Practise this word

odour in the wild

Dimethyl sulfide is a volatile liquid) with an unpleasant odour at even low concentrations.
Swern oxidation
Bear and Thomas used the term for an odour released from rock or soil materials after dry conditions when they are exposed to moisture.
Petrichor
Volatile tellurium compounds often have unpleasant odours, reminiscent of decayed leeks or garlic.
Hydrogen telluride
Known in some regions as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and thorn-covered rind.
Durian
Certain body odours are connected to human sexual attraction.
Body odour and sexual attraction

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the odor family

deodorant odour

odour — used about once every 7,462 pages · #10,924 · point at the bar for the others

odourless

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