odor

Compared meaning: a smell, especially a strong one (noun).

比较义项：气味（名词）。

• smell

  The general, everyday word for any scent, pleasant or unpleasant; also works as a verb ('it smells good'), which odor cannot.

  smell是日常泛用词，可以指任何气味，无论好闻还是难闻；它还能作动词使用（如it smells good），而odor不能这样用。

  The candles she lit made the living room smell absolutely wonderful.

  她点的蜡烛让整个客厅闻起来非常好闻。

• odor 本词

  A more formal, noun-only word, usually implying a strong, noticeable, or unpleasant smell; common in American English and in medical or technical writing.

  odor是更正式的词，只能作名词，通常暗指一种浓烈、明显或不好闻的气味，在美式英语以及医学、科技类文本中较常见。

  The nurse noticed a strong odor of alcohol on the patient's breath.

  护士注意到病人呼吸中有一股浓烈的酒味。

Smell and odor both mean a scent. Smell is the everyday word, also a verb ('it smells good'); its figurative sense 'to suspect,' as in 'smell a rat,' is not compared. Odor is formal, noun-only, and implies a strong or unpleasant smell.

这两个词都表示“气味”，但smell是日常用语，可以是名词也可以是动词，形容好闻或难闻的气味都可以；odor只能作名词，语气更正式、更专业，通常暗指浓烈或不好闻的气味，在美式英语和医学、科技类文本中更常见（英式英语多拼作odour）。这里不比较smell作动词表示“察觉、怀疑”的引申义（如smell a rat）。