odour

[ oh-der ]
/ ˈoʊ dər /

noun Chiefly British.

odor.

Definition for odour (2 of 2)

odor
[ oh-der ]
/ ˈoʊ dər /

noun

Also especially British, o·dour.

Origin of odor

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin

SYNONYMS FOR odor

3 aroma, redolence, perfume. Odor, smell, scent, stench all refer to sensations perceived through the nose by the olfactory nerves. Odor and smell in literal contexts are often interchangeable. Figuratively, odor also usually occurs in positive contexts: the odor of sanctity. Smell is the most general and neutral of these two terms, deriving connotation generally from the context in which it is used: the tempting smell of fresh-baked bread; the rank smell of rotting vegetation. In figurative contexts smell may be either positive or negative: the sweet smell of success; a strong smell of duplicity pervading the affair. Scent refers either to delicate and pleasing aromas or to faint, barely perceptible smells: the scent of lilacs on the soft spring breeze; deer alarmed by the scent of man. Stench is strongly negative, referring both literally and figuratively to what is foul, sickening, or repulsive: the stench of rotting flesh; steeped in the stench of iniquity and treason.

OTHER WORDS FROM odor

o·dor·ful, adjective o·dor·less, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for odour

British Dictionary definitions for odour (1 of 2)

odour

US odor

/ (ˈəʊdə) /

noun

the property of a substance that gives it a characteristic scent or smell
a pervasive quality about something an odour of dishonesty
repute or regard (in the phrases in good odour, in bad odour)

Derived forms of odour

odourless or US odorless, adjective

Word Origin for odour

C13: from Old French odur, from Latin odor; related to Latin olēre to smell, Greek ōzein

British Dictionary definitions for odour (2 of 2)

odor
/ (ˈəʊdə) /

noun

the US spelling of odour

Derived forms of odor

odorless, adjective

Medical definitions for odour

odor
[ ōdər ]

n.

The property or quality of a thing that affects, stimulates, or is perceived by the sense of smell.
A sensation, stimulation, or perception of the sense of smell.