Words / B2

uh-ROHM-uh/əˈrəʊmə/

An aroma is a distinctive, usually pleasant smell, especially of food or drink: the aroma of coffee; a rich aroma. Smell is everyday (already in the dictionary); odour can be unpleasant; fragrance is often of perfume. Calling the sample an aroma is not a result; name the compound if the chromatogram gives it. Mix-up: aroma vs aroma as a brand; armour; do not write aroma for a gas leak named as a hazard in the H&S brief.

Meaning

A distinctive, usually pleasant smell, especially of food or drink.

Examples

• “Calling the sample an aroma is not a result; name the compound if the chromatogram gives it.”
• “Aroma in the sensory panel still needs the n and the scale, the food-tech paper said.”

Good to know

the aroma of; a rich / distinctive aroma. Everyday: smell (already in A2). Close: scent / fragrance. Contrast: odour (often unpleasant). Trap: a named gas hazard. Food science. A distinctive smell — name the compound or quote the panel score.

Near in meaning

smell, scent, fragrance

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