/smɑɹt/, /smɑːt/
OriginFrom Middle English smerten, from Old English *smeortan (“to smart”), from Proto-West Germanic *smertan, from Proto-Germanic *smertaną (“to hurt, ache”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert, Dutch smarten, German schmerzen, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta.
- intransitiveTo hurt or sting.
“After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts!"”
“He moved convulsively, and as he did so, said, "I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait waistcoat. I have had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannot move. What's wr”
“When the thrashing stopped, Fina used the pipe to roll the first woman's corpse over. She bent down, feeling a curious distance between the sudden serenity in her mind and the actions of her limbs, an”
- transitiveTo cause a smart or sting in.
“A goad that […] smarts the flesh.”
- intransitiveTo feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to be punished severely; to feel the sting of evil.
“You think this cruel? take it for a rule, / No creature ſmarts ſo little as a Fool.”
“He that is ſurety for a ſtranger ſhall ſmart for it.”
“Meanvvhile the Abate exulted in ſucceſsful vengeance, and the marquis ſmarted beneath the ſtings of diſappointment.”
- Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
“I always preferred the church, and I still do. But that was not smart enough for my family. They recommended the army. That was a great deal too smart for me.”
- informalExhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
- in-compounds, oftenEquipped with intelligent behaviour (digital/computer technology).
“smart car”
“smartcard”
“smartphone”
- Good-looking; well dressed; fine; fashionable.
“a smart outfit”
“You look smart in that business suit.”
- Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.
“He became tired of his girlfriend's smart remarks.”
“Don't get smart with me!”
“Who, for the poor renown of being smart / Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?”
- Sudden and intense.
“smart skirmishes, in which many fell”
“There is a smart shower at 5 P.M., and in the midst of it a hummingbird is busy about the flowers in the garden, unmindful of it, though you would think that each big drop that struck him would be a s”
- Causing sharp pain; stinging.
“How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.”
- Sharp; keen; poignant.
- Southern-US, datedIntense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right.
“He raised his voice; it hurt her feelings right smart.”
“That cast on his leg chaffs him right smart.”
- archaicEfficient; vigorous; brilliant.
“The stars shine smarter.”
- archaicPretentious; showy; spruce.
- archaicBrisk; fresh.
- AppalachiaHard-working.
- mnemonic, not-comparableAn acronym for remembering desirable characteristics for goal-setting: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timebound. (See SMART criteria on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)
“Over time, I noticed various exercises I did with Woebot rubbing off in my daily life. Woebot taught me how to set SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.”
- A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
“[…] the bodie had no smart / Of any wound: it was the minde that felt the cruell stings.”
“If chance some Shepherd with a distant Dart / The Savage wound, he rowzes at the Smart, / He foams, he roars […]”
“Of course Tommy came to grief, tumbled upon a hornets’ nest and got stung; but being used to woe, he bore the smart manfully […]”
- Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
“Mishaps are maistred by aduice discrete, / And counsell mitigates the greatest smart; / Found neuer help, who neuer would his hurts impart.”
“But oh why didst thou not stay here below / To bless us with thy heav’n lov’d innocence, […] / To stand ’twixt us and our deserved smart / But thou canst best perform that office where thou art.”
“I was so humiliated, hurt, spurned, offended, angry, sorry,—I cannot hit upon the right name for the smart—God knows what its name was,—that tears started to my eyes.”
- abbreviation, alt-of, clippingClipping of smart money.
- dated, slangA dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.
“[…] I reſolved to quit all further Converſation vvith Beaus and Smarts of all kinds, […]”
- abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountableAcronym of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology; also S.M.A.R.T.: a monitoring system included in computer HDDs and SSDs in order to detect and report various indicators of drive reliability with the intent of anticipating imminent hardware failures.
- abbreviation, acronym, alt-ofAcronym of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.
- A surname.
Formssmarts(present, singular, third-person) · smarting(participle, present) · smarted(past) · smort(obsolete, past) · smarted(participle, past) · smort(obsolete, participle, past) · smorten(obsolete, participle, past) · smarter(comparative) · smartest(superlative) · smarts(plural)