Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

smell blood

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.39 in modern English

Syllables: smell blood
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To sense that one has an advantage over an adversary or rival.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Later he intended to continue his goading of Neil. He could smell blood now; if only he could get the man to fall apart in one of their clubs."
"Smelling blood in the economic meltdown, the lower house of parliament, or Duma, took the offensive, calling for Yeltsin to resign."
"The Pistons, once they smelled blood, got more aggressive and the Spurs simply ran out of gas."
"When buyers do turn up nowadays, she says, “they smell blood in the water and routinely offer 15 to 20 percent below the asking price.”"

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

smells blood (present, singular) smelling blood (participle, present) smelled blood (participle, past) smelled blood (past) smelt blood (participle, past) smelt blood (past)

Phrases

go for the jugular have the upper hand

Frequently Paired Words

go for the jugular have the upper hand

Synonyms

smell blood in the water

Questions

What does smell blood mean?: To sense that one has an advantage over an adversary or rival.

How to pronounce smell blood

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