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reek Definition

reek (rēk)

noun

  1. vapor; fume
  2. a strong, unpleasant smell; stench
  3. Scot., North Eng. smoke

Etymology: ME < OE rec, akin to ON reykr, Ger rauch < ? IE base *reug-, cloud, smoke

intransitive verb

  1. to give off steam or smoke
  2. to have a strong, offensive smell
  3. to be permeated with anything very unpleasant

Etymology: ME reken < OE reocan

transitive verb

  1. to expose to the action of smoke or fumes
  2. to emit or exude (vapor, fumes, etc.)

reek Related Forms

reek′y adjective

reek Synonyms

reek

n.

stench, stink, smell; see smell 2.

reek Synonyms

reek

v.

smell, give off an odor, stink; see smell 1, stink.

reek Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • booze: Ten to one he'll stagger in reeking of booze.
  • smoke: It literally reeked of stale smoke - more like the pub than a bedroom.
  • desperation: Many of these films reek of the desperation of forty years spent trying to get the message across to these idiots.
  • hypocrisy: Some of their colleagues think this reeks of hypocrisy.
  • garlic: You will reek of garlic for days but it shouldn't matter if she loves you.
  • tobacco: For a beginner reeked of tobacco himself into a player trail too.

Object

  • havoc: We then continued the motion reeking havoc on the normally tranquil city of Milton Keynes.
  • revenge: Poseidon wasn't happy about this and called upon the king of the gods, Zeus, to reek a terrible revenge.
  • o: Thick reeks the storm o ' night Round him that steers the ship.
  • exhalation: From the open door there reeked a horrible poisonous exhalation which set us gasping and coughing.

Preposition: with

  • filth: The woman had a black eye, and was in a wretched condition, whilst the house was reeking with filth and dirt.
  • blood: Who is there, that if his hands do not reek with human blood, is not soiled with foul impurities?
  • stench: I inspected several very closely and found them reeking with stench and the worst sort of abomination.

Modifying Another Word

  • positively: Needless to say, the demo positively reeks of quality.
  • just: Or maybe the whole thing just reeks of the barbaric... Will this stop people dying for things they believe in?
  • all: Your clothes, your hair, your breath, your fingers - even your skin - all reek.
  • still: I looked out that pair from the bottom of my wardrobe last week -- they still reek.
  • not: I speak from 15 years of experience in this There has never yet been an attacker who was not reeking with crime.
  • simply: It was simply reeking with cholera germs, having a mud floor that had become saturated with filth.

Followed by an intransitive particle

up: Not far away giant funeral pyres send the last hopes of much of the farming industry reeking up to heaven.