reek

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /rik/ UK /riːk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to give off a strong, unpleasant smell

The alley reeked of stale beer and smoke.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to give off a strong,... stink stench smell whiff fume pong

Opposites

perfume fragrance

Word family

Derived forms reekingreekedreeky

Related forms smoke

Etymology

From Old English rēocan ('to smoke, steam, give off vapor'), from Proto-Germanic *reukaną ('to smoke'); the sense 'unpleasant smell' developed later. Cognate with Dutch rieken and German riechen.

rēocan Old English *reukaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# reek

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /rik/
**IPA (UK):** /riːk/

## Meanings
1. to give off a strong, unpleasant smell

## Examples
- The alley reeked of stale beer and smoke.

## Synonyms
- stink
- stench
- smell
- whiff
- fume
- pong

## Antonyms
- perfume
- fragrance

## Derived Forms
- reeking
- reeked
- reeky

## Related Forms
- smoke

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rēocan
- Root: *reukaną

## Etymology
From Old English rēocan ('to smoke, steam, give off vapor'), from Proto-Germanic *reukaną ('to smoke'); the sense 'unpleasant smell' developed later. Cognate with Dutch rieken and German riechen.

## AI Etymology
Reek is from Old English rēocan ('to smoke, steam, give off vapor'), from Proto-Germanic *reukaną ('to smoke'); the sense 'unpleasant smell' developed later. Cognate with Dutch rieken and German riechen. Important recorded forms include rēocan (Old English) and *reukaną (Proto-Germanic). The current sense covers to give off a strong, unpleasant smell. The wider family includes derived forms such as reeking, reeked, and reeky and related words such as smoke.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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