smell out

1. 1.

   recognize or detect by or as if by smelling

   “He can smell out trouble”

   Synonymssniff outscent outnose out
2. 2.

   become aware of not through the senses but instinctively

   “I sense his hostility”

   “I smell trouble”

   “smell out corruption”

   Synonymssmellsense

   Broaderperceive

Questions about smell out

What does smell out mean?

smell out means "recognize or detect by or as if by smelling". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for smell out?

Close synonyms include sniff out, scent out, nose out, smell, sense. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is smell out a common word?

smell out is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.