smell

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

比较义项：气味（名词）。

• smell 本词

  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

  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）。

Compared meaning: the sense of smell (noun).

比较义项：嗅觉（名词）。

• smell 本词

  The everyday, neutral word for the sense of smell in people and animals, often used when comparing how sharp it is.

  日常、中性的说法，指人和动物的嗅觉，常用于比较嗅觉的灵敏程度。

  A dog's smell is far more sensitive than a human's.

  狗的嗅觉比人类的灵敏得多。

• scent

  A more literary word for the sense of smell, used almost only for animals tracking prey or a trail by odor.

  更书面的说法，几乎只用于动物凭嗅觉追踪猎物或踪迹。

  Wolves rely on scent, not sight, to track their prey through the forest.

  狼靠嗅觉而不是视觉在森林里追踪猎物。

Smell and scent mean the sense of smell. Smell is everyday and neutral, used to compare how sharp it is; smell's sense 'an odor' is not compared. Scent is literary, used for animals tracking prey by odor; scent's senses 'fragrance' and 'trail' are not compared.

这两个词在“嗅觉”这一义项上意思相近，但语体和使用范围不同：smell是日常用词，人和动物都能用来形容嗅觉的灵敏程度；scent更书面，几乎只用于动物凭嗅觉追踪猎物或踪迹的语境。这里不比较smell表示“气味”的用法，也不比较scent表示“香味”或“踪迹”的用法。