cologne

name

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.”

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

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)A type of perfume consisting of 2–5% essential oils, 70–90% alcohol and water.

   “You stink of too much cologne.”

   “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.”

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

2. (uncountable, usually)Any 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. (broadly, uncountable, usually)A fragrance typically worn by a man as opposed to a woman, regardless of its concentration.

verb

1. (transitive)To scent with cologne.