What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Reek vs Reap - What's the difference?

reek | reap |

As nouns the difference between reek and reap

is that reek is a strong unpleasant smell or reek can be (ireland) a hill; a mountain while reap is a bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut.

As verbs the difference between reek and reap

is that reek is (archaic|intransitive) to be emitted or exhaled, emanate, as of vapour or perfume while reap is to cut with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine, as grain; to gather, as a harvest, by cutting.

reek

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) rek, ‘smoke, fog’, Albanian regj ‘to tan’).Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology , s.vv. “*raukiz”, “*reukanan”(Leiden: Brill, 2003), 299:303.

Noun

(-)
  • A strong unpleasant smell.
  • Vapor; steam; smoke; fume.
  • * Shakespeare
    • As hateful to me as the reek of a limekiln.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) reken ‘to smoke’, from (etyl) . See above.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (archaic) To be emitted or exhaled, emanate, as of vapour or perfume.
  • To have or give off a strong, unpleasant smell.
    • You reek of perfume.
    Your fridge reeks of egg.
  • (figuratively) To be evidently associated with something unpleasant.
    • The boss appointing his nephew as a director reeks of nepotism.

    Etymology 3

    Probably a transferred use (after Irish cruach stack (of corn), pile, mountain, hill) of a variant of rick (with which it is cognate).

    Noun

    (s)
  • (Ireland) A hill; a mountain.

    • References

    * * * * * Notes:

    Anagrams

    * ----

    reap

    English

    Verb

  • To cut with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine, as grain; to gather, as a harvest, by cutting.
  • * Bible, Leviticus
    • When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field.
  • To gather; to obtain; to receive as a reward or harvest, or as the fruit of labor or of works, in a good or a bad sense.
    • to reap a benefit from exertions
  • * Milton
    • Why do I humble thus myself, and, suing / For peace, reap nothing but repulse and hate?
  • * (Bible) Epistle to the Galatians, ch. 6, v.7
    • For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap. Gal.6.7
  • (computer science) To terminate a child process that has previously exited, thereby removing it from the process table.
    • Until a child process is reaped , it may be listed in the process table as a zombie or defunct process.
  • (obsolete) To deprive of the beard; to shave.
    • (Shakespeare)

    Derived terms

    * reaper * reap what one sows *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut.

    • Anagrams

    *