Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌸 A pleasant smell 🐾 A smell trail 💌 To add fragrance 👃 To smell out
to scent

to scent

5 3.5
To use the sense of smell to find something, often by animals
  • verb
  • /sɛnt/
translation icon : olfatear
  • If they scent you, they'll swing around behind and sneak up on you.
  • dogs scent
  • scent prey
  • scent a trail

But I think most dogs can scent, have weed.

Examples

  • But instead, her head went up like a horse's, scenting something special in the wind.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The man's nostrils flared, like an animal scenting its prey.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Some of them are so alert they can scent out promising new writers.

    Blog text (28)

  • Wait, so I get to scent-train a dog?

    A Dog's Journey (2019)

  • If we successfully scent-train a dog, it can make the difference between life and death.

    A Dog's Journey (2019)

  • If he scents a deer, he'll strike out.

    Ballast (2008)

  • Fera stopped and sniffed the wind, scenting for Wolf.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The dog bared its teeth at the marshes; maybe it scented what a person or a horse couldn't.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The dog is trained to scent various substances during the search operation.

  • When the fox scented the presence of its prey, it swiftly moved through the bushes.

Synonyms

to sniff out
vsto scent
  • Informal
15 4.0

Find something by searching, often by smell

applies especially to animals detecting things by using their sense of smell
to get a whiff
vsto scent
11 4.7

Smell something briefly, often a strong scent

detects or searches actively for things by using the sense of smell
to catch a whiff
vsto scent
4 5.1

To notice a small smell of something for a short time

focuses on actively detecting or searching rather than a brief slight notice
to nose
vsto scent
3 5.0

To find something by sniffing around

applies mainly to animals for detecting or searching by smell
to smell out
vsto scent
2 5.1

Find something hidden by noticing small signs

focuses on animals using their nose to detect or search for things
to scent out
vsto scent
5.6

To find something by smell or by careful searching

applies mainly to animals detecting things literally by smell

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to overlook
243 2.9

To not notice someone or something you should see

Phrasal Verbs

to scent out
5.6

To find something by smell or by careful searching

Compounds

balsam scent
6.8

A sweet, fresh, woody smell like fir or pine

How Effective

to track
∞ 2.3
to trail
50 2.5
to scent
5 3.5
to smell
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

scent infinitive
scented past
scented past participle
scenting present participle
scents third person singular

Etymology

The verb scent comes from Latin sentire 'to perceive' and links to the word sense, which means to notice with your senses. That's why to scent can mean to detect or find something by smell, as animals do when they pick up a trail.