cologne

plural colognes

1. uncountableusuallyA type of perfume consisting of 2–5% essential oils, 70–90% alcohol and water.

   You stink of too much cologne.

   2 more examples

   The perfume market has always been a two-tiered one, with a relatively small number of buyers of small bottles of real perfume and eau de parfum that cost large amounts of money, and a larger number of buyers of somewhat larger bottles of cologne and eau de toilette that are considerably more affordable but not always cheap.

   1987 October, Timothy Kalich, “Marketing: What's in a Smell?”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN

   He wore some aftershave or cologne that gave him a heavy, nasty, sweet scent.

   1998, Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents, HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP (2019), page 95

   Synonyms: eau de Cologne

2. uncountableusuallyAny of a family of fresh, citrus-based fragrances distilled using extracts from citrus, floral, and woody ingredients, said to have been developed in the early 18th century in Cologne, Germany.
3. broadlyuncountableusuallyA fragrance typically worn by a man as opposed to a woman, regardless of its concentration.

present singular third person colognes · participle present cologning · participle past cologned · past cologned

1. transitiveTo scent with cologne.

alternative obsolete Collen · alternative obsolete Cologn · alternative rare Köln

1. The largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the Rhine River.

   Roads on either side of the river Rhine will be closed as authorities seal off the large evacuation zone. The Unesco World Heritage Cologne Cathedral sits just outside the area.

   2025 June 4, Alex Croft, “Around 20,000 evacuated in Cologne as major bomb defusal operation underway”, in The Independent, archived from the original on 26 Jul 2025, retrieved 20 Feb 2026

2. A city and town in Minnesota, United States.