noun
stench
stehnch
noun
1
A strong, unpleasant smell.
"The stench of rotting rubbish filled the alley."
"A stench of stale beer hung over the bar the morning after."
How to Use Stench
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA powerful bad smell — stronger and more unpleasant than an ordinary odour.
Common pairings
a foul stench
the stench of
reeking stench
Word Forms
stenched past tense, stenches plural, stenches singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “stench”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The _____ of rotting rubbish filled the alley.
Etymology
From Old English stenc, originally meaning any strong smell, good or bad — over time it narrowed to mean specifically a foul one.