Smell sth up Meaning & Examples: How to Use This Phrasal Verb

What Does “Smell sth up” Mean?

“Smell sth up” means to make a place or thing smell bad, usually by causing an unpleasant odor.

Introduction

The phrasal verb “smell sth up” is commonly used in everyday English when talking about causing a bad smell. It often refers to situations where something, like food or trash, creates an unpleasant odor in a room or area. Understanding the “smell sth up meaning” helps learners describe messy or smelly situations easily. This phrase is useful both in casual conversations and descriptive writing.

Quick Info Box

• Phrasal verb: smell something up
• Type: Transitive
• Level: B2
• Short meaning: To cause a bad or unpleasant smell

Structure (Grammar Rules)

“Smell sth up” is a separable phrasal verb. This means you can put the object between “smell” and “up” or after “up.”

• smell something up
• smell up something

Example:

• He smelled the kitchen up with burnt food.
• The burnt food smelled up the kitchen.

How to Use Smell sth up?

Use “smell sth up” when you want to say that someone or something has caused a bad smell. It often describes places like rooms, cars, or clothes. The phrase focuses on the result — the unpleasant smell that spreads.

Examples

After cooking fish, the whole house smelled up badly.

• Don’t leave dirty socks in your bag; they can smell it up.
• The trash bin smells up the kitchen if it isn’t emptied regularly.
• Smoking inside the car quickly smells it up.
• The old fridge smells up the whole room when it breaks down.

These examples show “smell sth up in a sentence” used naturally in daily life.

Common Mistakes

People often confuse “smell sth up” with “smell bad” or misuse the object position.

• Incorrect: She smelled up badly the room.
• Correct: She smelled the room up badly.
• Incorrect: The kitchen smells up.
• Correct: The kitchen smells up because of the garbage.

Remember, the object must come with “smell” and “up” unless the verb is used intransitively with a clear cause.

Differences / Synonyms

“Smell sth up” is similar to “stink up” and “reek of,” but there are subtle differences.

• Stink up: Stronger, more negative and informal.
• Reek of: Usually followed by the cause, like “reek of smoke.”
• Smell sth up: Neutral, describes the act of causing a bad smell without extra emotion.

Example:

• The garbage stinks up the room. (Very strong smell)
• The room reeks of cigarette smoke. (Focus on the cause)
• The food smells up the kitchen. (General bad smell)

Common Collocations

We often use “smell sth up” with objects that can cause odors. Here are some common collocations:

• smell the room up – make a room smell bad
• smell the kitchen up – cause bad odors in the kitchen
• smell the car up – create an unpleasant smell inside a vehicle
• smell the clothes up – make clothes smell bad
• smell the fridge up – cause bad odors in a refrigerator

Related Phrasal Verbs

Here are related phrasal verbs of smell sth up:

• Smell Of Sth
• Smell Sth Out

Real-life Dialogue

Here is a short conversation using “smell sth up”:

Anna: Did you notice the kitchen smells weird?

Tom: Yeah, I think the garbage is starting to smell it up again.

Anna: I’ll take it out now before it smells the whole house up.

Practice

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of “smell sth up”:

• The old socks ________ my backpack yesterday.
• Don’t leave the fish out; it will ________ the fridge.
• The smoke from the fire ________ the entire neighborhood.

FAQ

• What does “smell sth up” mean? It means to cause a bad or unpleasant smell.
• Is “smell sth up” formal or informal? It is neutral and used in everyday language.
• Can I use “smell sth up” in past tense? Yes, for example, “He smelled the room up yesterday.”
• Is “smell sth up” separable? Yes, the object can come between “smell” and “up” or after “up.”
• What are synonyms for “smell sth up”? Synonyms include “stink up” and “reek of,” but with slight differences.