scent

1. (transitive) To detect the scent of; to discern by the sense of smell.Examples: "The hounds scented the fox in the woods."; "methinks I scent the morning air."; "if she had scented danger in the air, as a dog scents the presence of some creature unseen, her alarm could not have displayed itself more suddenly"Synonyms: smelltransitive

2. (ambitransitive) To inhale in order to detect the scent of (something).Examples: "I paused to scent the breeze as I entered the valley."; "One night he sprang from sleep with a start, eager-eyed, nostrils quivering and scenting,"Synonyms: sniff, smellambitransitive

3. (transitive, figurative) To have a suspicion of; to detect the possibility of (something).Examples: "I scented trouble when I saw them running down the hill towards me."; "Cope seemed to scent a challenge and accepted it."; "A mysterious scene to me then—yet I scented that there was something momentous about it, though I could not tell what."Synonyms: detect, discern, perceive, sensefigurativelytransitive

4. (transitive) To impart an odour to, to cause to have a particular smell.Examples: "Scent the air with burning sage before you begin your meditation."; "Balm, from a Silver box distill’d around, / Shall all bedew the roots and scent the sacred ground;"; "[Vanilla pods] have a fat rich aromatic taste, and most agreeable flavour; on which account they are used to scent the chocolate."Synonyms: perfume, odorizetransitive

5. (intransitive, obsolete) To have a smell; (figuratively) to give an impression (of something).Examples: "Thunderbolts & lightnings […] do sent strongly of brimstone:"; "1647, John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, The False One, Act III, Scene 2, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies, London: John Martyn et al., p. 325, I smell him now: fie, how the Knave perfumes him, / How strong he scents of Traitor?"; "though praying for a wounded Conscience may seemingly scent of pretended humility, it doth really and rankly savour of pride,"Synonyms: smellintransitiveobsolete