Smart
Pronunciation
- GenAm IPA: /smɑɹt/
- RP IPA: /smÉ‘Ët/
- Rhymes: -É‘Ë(ɹ)t
Origin 1
From Middle English smerten, from Old English smeortan ("to smart"), 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.
Full definition of smart
Verb
- (intransitive) To hurt or sting.After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts!"
- 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21He 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 wrong with my face? It feels all swollen, and it smarts dreadfully."
- (transitive) To cause a smart or sting in.
- T. AdamsA goad that ... smarts the flesh.
- To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to suffer; to feel the sting of evil.
- Alexander PopeNo creature smarts so little as a fool.
- Bible, Proverbs xi. 15He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.
Origin 2
From Middle English smart, smarte, smerte, from Old English smeart ("smarting, smart, painful"), from Proto-Germanic *smartaz ("hurting, aching"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- ("to bite, sting"). Cognate with Scots smert ("painful, smart"), Old Frisian smert ("sharp, painful").
Adjective
smart
- Causing sharp pain; stinging.
- ShakespeareHow smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.
- Sharp; keen; poignant.a smart pain
- Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
- 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 19I 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.
- Exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
- (often in combination) Equipped with intelligent behaviour.smart bomb, smart carsmartcard, smartphone
- Good-looking.a smart outfit
- Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.He became tired of his daughter's sarcasm and smart remarks.''
- YoungWho, for the poor renown of being smart
Would leave a sting within a brother's heart? - Addisona sentence or two, ... which I thought very smart
- Sudden and intense.
- Clarendonsmart skirmishes, in which many fell
- 1860 July 9, Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, from Thoreau's bird-lore, Francis H. Allen (editor), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, 1910), Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, Beacon Press, (Boston, 1993), page 239: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 serious accident.
- (US, Southern, dated) Intense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right.He raised his voice, and it hurt her feelings right smart.That cast on his leg chaffs him right smart.
- (archaic) Efficient; vigorous; brilliant.
- DrydenThe stars shine smarter.
- (archaic) Pretentious; showy; spruce.a smart gown
- (archaic) Brisk; fresh.a smart breeze
Synonyms
- (exhibiting social ability) bright, capable, sophisticated, witty
- (exhibiting intellectual knowledge) cultivated, educated, learned, see also
- (good-looking) attractive, chic, stylish, handsome
- (cleverly and/or sarcastically humorous) silly
Antonyms
Derived terms
Origin 3
From Middle English smerte, from smerten ("to smart"). See above. Cognate with Scots smert, Dutch smart, Low German smart, German Schmerz, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta. More above.
Noun
smart
(plural smarts)- A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
- Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
- MiltonTo stand 'twixt us and our deserved smart.
- SpenserCounsel mitigates the greatest smart.
- Smart-money.
- (slang, dated) A dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.