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scent

/sɛnt/noun, verb

scent is spelled S-C-E-N-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.6 times per million words in written English, the 9,313th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scent means “A distinctive smell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scent is scents.

How many letters and syllables are in scent?

Letters5: S-C-E-N-T
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing6.6 times per million words; the 9,313th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is scent?

Scent appears 6.6 times per million words in written English, the 9,313th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce scent?

  • /sɛnt/

Scent has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-scent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with scent

Sounds like: cent, sent (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: sent.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of scent

  • scents plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • scenting participle, present
  • scented participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does scent mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A distinctive smell.

    the scent of flowers / of a skunk

  2. 2

    A smell left by an animal that may be used for tracing.

    The dogs picked up / caught the scent but then quickly lost it.

  3. 3

    The sense of smell.

    I believe the bloodhound has the best scent of all dogs.

  4. 4

    A substance (usually liquid) created to provide a pleasant smell.

    a scent shop

  5. 5

    Any trail or trace that can be followed to find something or someone, such as the paper left behind in a paperchase.

    The minister's off-hand remark put journalists on the scent of a cover-up.

  6. 6

    obsoleteSense, perception.

verb

  1. 1

    To detect the scent of; to discern by the sense of smell.

    The hounds scented the fox in the woods.

  2. 2

    To inhale in order to detect the scent of (something).

  3. 3

    To have a suspicion of; to detect the possibility of (something).

    I scented trouble when I saw them running down the hill towards me.

  4. 4

    To impart an odour to, to cause to have a particular smell.

    Scent the air with burning sage before you begin your meditation.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo have a smell; (figuratively) to give an impression (of something).

  6. 6

    To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Scent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchodeur (distinctive odour or smell), odorat (sense of smell)
GermanGeruch, Duft (distinctive odour or smell), Spur (odour left by animal), Parfüm, Parfum (perfume), Fährte (figuratively: any traces that can be followed)
Portuguesecheiro, aroma, odor (distinctive odour or smell), olfato (sense of smell), perfume (perfume), sentir cheiro (o) (to detect the scent of)
Spanisholor, esencia, fragancia, aroma (distinctive odour or smell), olfato (sense of smell), oler (to detect the scent of)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does scent come from?

From Middle English sent (noun) and senten (verb), from Old French sentir (“to feel, perceive, smell, sense”), from Latin sentiō, sentīre (“to feel, sense”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel”), and thus related to Saterland Frisian Sin (“sense”), West Frisian sin (“sense”), Dutch zin (“sense, meaning”), Low German Sinn (“sense”), Luxembourgish Sënn (“sense, perception”), German Sinn (“sense”). The -c- appeared in the 17th century, possibly by influence of ascent, descent, etc., or by influence of science.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after scent