noun

reek

noun

A strong, unpleasant smell.

"The reek of stale beer hung over the pub the next morning."

verb

To give off a strong, unpleasant odor.

"His clothes reeked of cigarette smoke."

To be strongly suggestive of something bad or suspicious.

"The whole deal reeked of corruption."

How to Use Reek

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo smell strongly and unpleasantly, or figuratively, to seem clearly tainted by something bad.

Common pairings

reek of smoke reek of corruption a foul reek

reeked past tense, reeks plural, reeks plural, reeks plural, reeks singular

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “reek” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Can you complete this real example?

The _____ of stale beer hung over the pub the next morning.

From Old English rec, \"smoke,\" related to German Rauch.

funk honk niff hum pong smell stink stink to high heaven whiff

defunkify destinkify deodorize

smell stink vomit pong funk hum stench excel

eek week seek meek leek geek peek Zeek Greek cheek creek sleek

funk honk niff hum pong smell stink stink to high heaven whiff defunkify destinkify deodorize