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Glite Dictionary
to smell up

to smell up

1 7.5
Make a place or thing smell bad
  • phrasal verb
  • /smɛl ʌp/
translation icon : oler mal
  • It'll smell up the place.

Examples

  • He smelled up the joint something awful, and the hacks used to die.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • When he accidentally spilled the milk, it began to smell up the fridge within hours.

  • Well, Paul, it's gonna smell up the whole house.

    The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)

  • - I don't want him smelling up this place!

    The Panic in Needle Park (1971)

  • "Cooking hamburger and onions usually smokes or smells up the kitchen."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Is that nitrous I smell up underneath that bike, Chu Chu?

    Biker Boyz (2003)

  • "There are tons and tons of dead sardines washing up on the shore, and not only is the sight disturbing, but the huge amount of dead fish is literally smelling up the entire surrounding area."

    Blog text (11)

  • June 5, 2012: "There are tons and tons of dead sardines washing up on the shore, and not only is the sight disturbing, but the huge amount of dead fish is literally smelling up the entire surrounding area."

    Blog text (11)

  • The garbage was left outside for too long, causing it to smell up the entire backyard.

  • After we cooked the fish, the kitchen started to smell up with a strong odor.

Synonyms

to stink up
vsto smell up
15 4.8

Make a place smell very bad

is the neutral general form focusing on making something smell bad
to stink up the place
vsto smell up
3 7.5

Make a place smell very bad

is the general action not limited to a specific area
to stink out
vsto smell up
1 6.7

To fill a place with a very bad smell

is the general action without implying a single strong source

Antonyms

to freshen
70 2.7

Make something or yourself smell and feel clean

to air out
8 3.0

Open something so wind from outside moves through it to remove bad smells or moisture

How Smelly

to reek
33 5.9
to stink up
15 4.8
to smell up
1 7.5
to odorize
  • Specialized
7.1

Surface Forms

smell up infinitive
smelled up past
smelled up past participle
smelling up present participle
smells up third person singular

Morphology

smell + up

The meaning 'to cause something to have a strong or unpleasant smell' is directly derivable from combining 'smell' (emit odor) with the particle 'up' used here to increase or fill a space with that quality. This verb+particle composition is productive and predictable in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Smell up comes from the simple image of a bad smell rising up and filling a room, so it means 'to cause a place to have a strong or unpleasant smell'.