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. Five important differences are:
| Difference | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -or vs -our | In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or.
In British English, these same words end in -our. |
Behavior or behaviour Labor or labour Favor or favour Favorite or favourite Color or colour Honor or honour |
| -er vs -re | In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er.
In British English, these same words end in -re. |
Theater or theatre Center or centre Meter or metre Liter or litre Saber or sabre Fiber or fibre |
| -ize vs -ise | In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize.
In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise. |
Realize or realise Recognize or recognise Analyze or analyse Organisation or organization Minimize or minimise Finalize or finalise |
| -ed vs -t | In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed.
In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t. |
Learned or learnt Burned or burnt Kneeled or knelt Dreamed or dreamt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt |
| Single vs double consonant | In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant.
In British English, these same words are spelled with a double consonant. |
Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling Canceled or cancelled Labeled or labelled Buses or busses Focused or focussed |
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.
