| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| reek |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  r k |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: reeked, reek·ing, reeks
| | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To smoke, steam, or fume. 2. To be pervaded by something unpleasant: “This document … reeks of self-pity and self-deception” (Christopher Hitchens). 3. To give off or become permeated with a strong unpleasant odor: “Grandma, who reeks of face powder and lilac water” (Garrison Keillor). | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To emit or exude (smoke, for example). 2. To process or treat by exposing to the action of smoke. | | NOUN: | 1. A strong offensive odor; a stench. See synonyms at stench. 2. Vapor; steam. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English reken, to emit smoke, from Old English rocan, and rcan, to expose to smoke. See reug- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | reek er —NOUN
reeky —ADJECTIVE
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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