/smæʃ/
OriginUncertain, probably of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Swedish smask (“to smack with the lips”), dialectal Swedish smaska (“to smack, kiss”), Danish smaske (“to smack with the lips”), Low German smaksen (“to smack with the lips, kiss”).
- countable, uncountableThe sound of a violent impact; a violent striking together.
“I could hear the screech of the brakes, then the horrible smash of cars colliding.”
“The display cabinet hit the floor with a smash.”
- Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountableA traffic collision.
“The driver and two passengers were badly injured in the smash.”
“The footage of this scene has been re-used in several later films where a good, convincing train smash was required, notably in "Seven Sinners" (1937).”
- colloquial, countable, uncountableSomething very successful or popular (as music, food, fashion, etc).
“This new show is sure to be a smash.”
“The dress is a smash.”
“[…]Mumford & Sons – prospering British folk band, in the middle of a long tour of Australia, the US and the UK, their newly released album Babel a smash on all fronts – wander to centre stage.”
- countable, uncountableA very hard overhead shot hit sharply downward.
“A smash may not be as pretty as a good half volley, but it can still win points.”
“A Nadal forehand into the net gave Djokovic the set and the Spaniard appeared rattled, firing a smash over the baseline in a rare moment of promise at 30-30 at the start of the third.”
- archaic, colloquial, countable, uncountableA bankruptcy.
“Supposing a man has for the space of a month carried on trade in a showy shop in Cheapside, and then comes a smash, — is he not to be held a trader within the bankrupt law, because no one can swear th”
- archaic, colloquial, countable, uncountableA disaster; a bad situation.
““There’s nowhere else to go to now, for the people at the Cripples are all in custody, and the bar of the ken—I went up there and see it with my own eyes—is filled with traps.”
“This is a smash,” obse”
- countable, uncountableA mashed foodstuff.
“[…] the saltbush dukkah, avocado and feta smash.”
- countable, uncountableA kind of julep cocktail containing chunks of fresh fruit that can be eaten after finishing the drink.
- countable, informal, uncountableAirspeed; dynamic pressure.
“Then, for Horner's red team, it became just a matter of gaining sufficient smash (airspeed) to convert on them and film them with gun cameras.”
- archaic, uncountableDestruction.
“I went back with him to the Admiral Benbow, and you cannot imagine a house in such a state of smash; the very clock had been thrown down by these fellows in their furious hunt after my mother and myse”
“The door panels were in a normal state of smash, but the frame of the door resisted all besiegers, and behind it the owner carried on his varied pursuits […]”
- transitiveTo break (something brittle) violently.
“The demolition team smashed the buildings to rubble.”
“The flying rock smashed the window to pieces.”
“Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing. Yet oddly enough I found here a far more unlike”
- intransitiveTo be destroyed by being smashed.
“The crockery smashed as it hit the floor.”
- transitiveTo hit extremely hard.
“He smashed his head against the table.”
“Bonds smashed the ball 467 feet, the second longest home run in the history of the park.”
- figuratively, transitiveTo ruin completely and suddenly.
“The news smashed any hopes of a reunion.”
- figuratively, transitiveTo defeat overwhelmingly; to gain a comprehensive success over.
“The Indians smashed the Yankees 22-0.”
“I really smashed that English exam.”
- US, transitiveTo deform through continuous pressure.
“I slowly smashed the modeling clay flat with the palm of my hand.”
“Using a fork, smash the avocado with all the remaining ingredients.”
- archaic, intransitive, slangSynonym of go to smash (“to go to ruin; to fail disastrously”).
“"What would have become of the gems had the bank smashed?" asked Marie in a timid and rather tearful voice, for it was a terrible thought to think that her dreams might dissolve into thin air.”
- Ireland, UK, obsolete, slangTo pass counterfeit money.
Formssmashes(plural) · smashes(present, singular, third-person) · smashing(participle, present) · smashed(participle, past) · smashed(past)