Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To give off a strong unpleasant odor.
- intransitive verb To be pervaded by something unpleasant.
- intransitive verb Chiefly British To smoke, steam, or fume.
- noun A strong offensive odor; a stench. synonym: stench.
- noun Chiefly British Smoke or vapor.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Smoke; vapor; steam; exhalation; fume.
- noun Incense.
- noun A rick; also, a small bundle of hay.
- To smoke; steam; exhale.
- To smoke; expose to smoke.
- To emit an unpleasant or unhealthy smell; stink.
- To cause to reek or smell offensively.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To emit vapor, usually that which is warm and moist; to be full of fumes; to steam; to smoke; to exhale.
- noun Vapor; steam; smoke; fume.
- noun obsolete A rick.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A strong unpleasant
smell . - noun
Vapor ;steam ;smoke ;fume . - verb archaic (
intransitive ) To be emitted or exhaled, emanate, as of vapour or perfume. - verb To have or give off a
strong ,unpleasant smell . - verb figuratively To be
evidently associated with somethingunpleasant .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb give off smoke, fumes, warm vapour, steam, etc.
- verb have an element suggestive (of something)
- verb be wet with sweat or blood, as of one's face
- noun a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
- verb smell badly and offensively
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Caitlin O’Toole at News. com.au outlines ten things bosses hate about employees, from big-picture errors like failing to meet deadlines to personal problems such as smelling bad (telling a staff member they reek is never a fun meeting).
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Caitlin O’Toole at News. com.au outlines ten things bosses hate about employees, from big-picture errors like failing to meet deadlines to personal problems such as smelling bad (telling a staff member they reek is never a fun meeting).
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Having artfully solved a thorny problem a week ago, the government has now embraced a deal whose terms reek of the bailout it was at such pains to avoid.
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Methinks these terms reek of desuetude which really is a legal term, correct?
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Every wreath of the reek is a blast of shame upon us!
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For a hungry cub, fresh from hibernating in its winter den, the reek was a thousand times more interesting than blackberry briars or a pair of woodland strangers.
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Every wreath of the reek is a blast of shame upon us!
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Every wreath of the reek is a blast of shame upon us!
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Yet, it is its foul odor, often described as the reek of rotten eggs or hydrogen sulfide, that puts the "skunk" into the creature's name.
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As Raymond Sokolov, then the Times restaurant critic, put it in 1973, the reek was the whole point.
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