to smell out - Glite Dictionary

Examples

Use that God-given gift you have for smelling out the truth of a situation.

The Big Kahuna (1999)
But I have to smell out something big enough to make them go along without sticking my nose too deep into their business.

Fiction book (1999)
I forgot how quickly the Americans smell out the double dealers and the crooks.

State of the Union (1948)
In those places I worked, I would get offers to do things, move stolen goods, handle drugs: people seemed to smell out somehow I'd made myself available.

Fiction book (1995)
It's the ScrumMaster's job to smell out impediments like a drug-sniffing German Shepherd and attack them like a Pit Bull.

Blog text (2)
She has a knack for smelling out dishonesty in people's stories.
During the investigation, the officer managed to smell out the key evidence buried within the paperwork.

Synonyms

to sense

vsto smell out

629 4.2

To notice something by feeling or by using a tool

is narrower, emphasizing clever intuition aimed at hidden suspicious matters

to spy

vsto smell out

40 3.1

To notice something suddenly or after looking for it

emphasizes clever detection of hidden or suspicious matters rather than seeing

to sniff out

vsto smell out

Informal

15 4.0

Find something by searching, often by smell

relies more on intuition and cleverness to detect suspicious matters

to scent

vsto smell out

5 3.5

To use the sense of smell to find something, often by animals

is more about clever intuition and suspicion than literal smelling

to nose out

vsto smell out

Informal

1 6.9

Find something after careful searching

focuses more on intuitive clever detection of hidden or suspicious things

to scent out

vsto smell out

5.6

To find something by smell or by careful searching

uses cleverness and intuition rather than an actual smelling process

to sniff out trouble

vsto smell out

Informal

5.9

To notice problems or danger before other people do

is broader, applying to finding hidden suspicious matters beyond just danger

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

How Certain

to expose

342 4.1

to uncover

243 3.5

to detect

763 3.2

to smell out

2 5.1

to notice

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

smell out infinitive

smelling out present participle

smells out third person singular

smelled out past

smelled out past participle

Morphology

smell + out

The verb 'smell' has a literal sense of detecting (by the nose) and a metaphorical sense of suspecting, while the particle 'out' signals finding or exposing; together they convey detecting or uncovering something hidden. This metaphorical extension from literal smelling to discovering information is fairly predictable and cross-linguistically common, but it requires a figurative mapping that a B1 learner might not fully infer without some exposure.

Etymology

Smell out may come from the image of a dog using its nose to find something hidden. To smell is to use the nose and out suggests bringing it into the open, so the phrase means 'to discover' or 'to find' something secret or suspicious.