From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishscentscent1 /sent/ ●○○ noun 1 [countable]COSMELL a pleasant smell that something has SYN fragrance a yellow rose with a lovely scentscent of the sweet scent of ripe fruit► see thesaurus at smell2 [countable]HBA the smell of a particular animal or person that some other animals, for example dogs, can follow3 → throw/put somebody off the scent4 [countable, uncountable] especially British EnglishDCBSMELL a liquid that you put on your skin to make it smell pleasant SYN perfume
Examples from the Corpus
scent• There she would lick them and give them her scent and then allow them to feed alongside her own kittens.• All she could smell was the clean masculine scent of Guido's skin.• The band might evoke a gallery of role models, but its musical scent remains purely and distinctively Pavement.• Two police bloodhounds followed the boy's scent to the old house.• The dogs followed the fox's scent to the edge of the forest.• The sweet scent of incense filled the air.• If you like a sweeter scent and have a wetter spot, prostrate chamomile works the same way.• The deer caught the scent of the man, and sprang off over the hill.• Was the scent essentially McAllister, or was it some subtle perfume she chose to wear?• The scent and hissing of pine needles make him believe he's in a hospital where nurses pass by him.• The scent made its way up to the chapel and viewing rooms, where two bodies were laid out.• She handed the joint to him after taking the first toke, filling the room with scent.scentscent2 verb [transitive] 1 to give a particular smell to something → perfume Honeysuckle and roses scented the air.2 writtenSURE to suddenly think that something is going to happen or exists We scented danger and decided to leave. The press had immediately scented a story. The trade unions have scented victory.3 HBAif an animal scents another animal or a person, it knows that they are near because it can smell them→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
scent• She is the associative restimulator something his analytical mind, told to scent danger, picks up as the cause.• Like a wolf pack scenting easy prey, they dismounted and spread out.• Police dogs have a very keen sense of smell and can scent even the slightest traces of drugs.• Then he loped away as a hound came running silently through the trees, nose to the ground, scenting slowly.• Even Hallmark is selling bath gels and scented soaps with their cards, for goodness' sakes.• The dog had scented something in the bushes.• He descended into the deep recesses of her neck where it was scented sweetly and so warm.• The fragrance of lilacs scented the evening air.• Sweet peas flowered under the windows of the crowded barracks and were brought in to scent the rooms.• He was fresh from the shower; his body smelt of the oil, which was scented with jasmine.• The water for my shower is scented with wood-ash.Origin scent2 (1300-1400) Old French sentir “to feel, smell”, from Latin sentire “to feel” 