This study seeks answers to the following two questions on olfaction and odor. First, what is the olfactory lexical gap phenomenon? Second, given lack of odor lexicon, how do English speakers express smells? In order to answer these questions, first, we explained the olfactory lexical gap phenomenon from neuro‐physiological, socio‐cultural, and lingua‐cognitive aspects, and confirmed that English speakers, in order to express smells, use linguistic tools such as hedonic judgments, the sources of odor, denominal adjectives, deverbal adjectives, adjacent senses, and reliance on memories, experiences and situations.