Definition

1. Verb (phrasal verb):
   • To inhale a strong, often unpleasant odor; to smell something intensely, typically in a way that is overwhelming or disagreeable.

Usage

• This phrasal verb is used to describe the experience of encountering a very potent smell, usually by accident. It implies the smell is so strong it feels as if one's nose is "full" of it.
• It is informal and often used in spoken English.

Examples

• Verb:
  • When I opened the old refrigerator, I got a noseful of spoiled milk.
  • Walking past the chemical plant, we got a noseful of a strange, acrid smell.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used figuratively to mean to receive an overwhelming amount of information or criticism, akin to "getting an earful," but this usage is less common and more idiomatic.
  • When I asked about the budget mistake, I got a noseful from the accountant about every single error. (Here, it implies a barrage of detailed, possibly unpleasant, information.)

Variants and Related Words

• Get an eyeful: To see something striking or shocking.
• Get an earful: To receive a lot of information, often in the form of a lecture, complaint, or scolding.

Synonyms

• Catch a whiff of: To smell something briefly.
• Be assailed by a smell: To be strongly affected by an odor (more formal).

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Get a whiff of: Similar to "get a noseful," but often implies a lighter, briefer, or initial smell.
  • I got a whiff of her perfume as she walked by.

Related Idioms

• Turn one's nose up at: To show disdain or contempt for something.
  • He turned his nose up at the cheap wine. (This idiom is related to the nose and judgment but has a different meaning.)

Verb

1. smell strongly and intensely