Is It Smelled or Smelt? | Spelling, Difference & Examples
Smelled and smelt are two ways of spelling the past tense of the verb “smell,” which means “to produce an odor” or “to detect something’s scent.” The spelling depends on the variant of English you use.
- In American English, “smelled” is standard.
- In British English, “smelled” and “smelt” are both used.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
The burned food smelled/smelt so bad!
The dog smelled/smelt something interesting and ran off into the woods.
Other uses of smelt
Smelt is not just the past tense form of the verb “smell.” It’s also
- The present tense or infinitive form of the verb “to smelt,” meaning “to melt ore to extract metal from it.”
- A noun to refer to a specific type of small fish.
Smelts are found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans.
Smell as a regular or irregular verb
- Verbs that form their past tense by adding “-ed” are regular verbs.
- Verbs that form their past tense by adding a different suffix are irregular verbs.
Where there’s a choice between regular and irregular, the irregular forms are more common in British English. Other examples include dreamed or dreamt, kneeled or knelt, smelled or smelt, spelt or spelled, burnt or burned, and learnt or learned.
Main differences between American and British English
American and British English are very similar, but there are a few main differences in spelling. Some differences are:
| Difference | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -or vs -our | In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or. | Behavior or behaviour Color or colour Favor or favour Flavor or flavour Favorite or favourite Honor or honour Humor or humour Labor or labour Neighbor or neighbour |
| In British English, these same words end in -our. | ||
| -er vs -re | In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er. | Center or centre Fiber or fibre Theater or theatre |
| In British English, these same words end in -re. | ||
| -ize vs -ise | In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize. | Analyze or analyse Organization or organisation Realize or realise Recognize or recognise |
| In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise. | ||
| -ed vs -t | In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed. | Burned or burnt Dreamed or dreamt Kneeled or knelt Learned or learnt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt Spilled or spilt |
| In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t. | ||
| Single vs double consonant | In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant. | Buses or busses Canceled or cancelled Counselor or counsellor Focused or focussed Labeled or labelled Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling |
| In British English, these same words are often spelled with a double consonant. | ||
| Dropping vs retaining the “e” | In American English, “e” is often dropped when forming a noun from a verb | Acknowledgment or acknowledgement Aging or ageing Judgment or judgement |
| In British English, the “e” is often retained. | ||
| Different verb and noun spellings | In American English, most words have identical verb and noun spellings. | License or licence Practice or practise |
| In British English, some words have different spellings for the verb and noun forms. | ||
| Other spelling differences | There are many other spelling differences between the two English variants. | Airplane or aeroplane Aluminum or aluminium Check or cheque Cozy or cosy Defense or defence Dependent or dependant Enrollment or enrolment Fulfil or fulfill Gray or grey Jewelry or jewellery Karat or carat Mold or mould Offense or offence Pajamas or pyjamas Program or programme Skeptical or sceptical Tire or tyre |
Other interesting articles
If you want to know more about job applications, research, or idioms, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Job applications
Research
Frequently asked questions about smelled or smelt
- Is the past tense of smell smelled or smelt?
-
Smelled and smelt are two spellings of the same verb. The usage depends on the variant of English.
- In British English, both “smelt” and “smelled” may be used.
- In American English, “smelled” is standard.
It’s important to choose one and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
- Is it smelled or smelt in Canada?
-
Smelled and smelt are two spellings of the same verb, the past tense of “smell.” Usage depends on the variant of English. In Canada, smelled is the standard spelling, the same as in American English.
It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.
