smooth

American  

[smooth] / smuð /

adjective

• smoother,
  comparative
• smoothest
  superlative

1. free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough.

   smooth wood; a smooth road.

   Synonyms:

   flat, even, polished, glossy

2. generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.

3. free from hairs or a hairy growth.

   a smooth cheek.

4. of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.

5. free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc..

   a smooth ride.

6. allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow.

   smooth driving.

7. easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.

8. having projections worn away.

   a smooth tire casing.

9. free from hindrances or difficulties.

   a smooth day at the office.

10. noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.

11. undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene.

    a smooth disposition.

12. elegant, easy, or polished.

    smooth manners.

13. ingratiatingly polite or suave.

    That salesman is a smooth talker.

14. free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.

15. not harsh to the ear, as sound.

    the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.

16. Phonetics. without aspiration.

---

adverb

1. in a smooth manner; smoothly.

verb (used with object)

• smooths,
  present (3rd person singular)
• smoothed,
  past participle,  past
• smoothing
  present participle

1. to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.

2. to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away orout ).

3. to free from difficulties.

4. to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed byaway ).

5. to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.

6. to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).

7. Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.

noun

1. act of smoothing.

   She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.

2. something that is smooth; a smooth part or place.

   through the rough and the smooth.

verb phrase

1. smooth over to make seem less severe, disagreeable, or irreconcilable; allay; mitigate.

   He smoothed over my disappointment with kind words.

smooth British  

/ smuːð /

adjective

1. resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities

2. silky to the touch

   smooth velvet

3. lacking roughness of surface; flat

4. tranquil or unruffled

   smooth temper

5. lacking obstructions or difficulties

6. 1. suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity

   2. ( in combination )

      smooth-tongued

7. (of the skin) free from hair

8. of uniform consistency

   smooth batter

9. not erratic; free from jolts

   smooth driving

10. not harsh or astringent

    a smooth wine

11. having all projections worn away

    smooth tyres

12. maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point

13. phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration

14. gentle to the ear; flowing

15. physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless

---

adverb

1. in a calm or even manner; smoothly

verb

1. to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions

2. to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth

   she smoothed out the creases in her dress

3. to make calm; soothe

4. to make easier

   smooth his path

5. electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply

6. obsolete to make more polished or refined

noun

1. the smooth part of something

2. the act of smoothing

3. tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line Compare rough

smooth Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing smooth

• take the rough with the smooth

---

Synonym Usage

See level.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• oversmoothness
  noun
• smoother
  noun
• smoothness
  noun
• unsmoothness
  noun
• presmooth
  verb (used with object)
• resmooth
  verb (used with object)
• oversmooth
  adjective
• smoothable
  adjective
• unsmooth
  adjective
• unsmoothed
  adjective
• oversmoothly
  adverb
• smoothly
  adverb
• unsmoothly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• smoother
  comparative
• smoothest
  superlative

Participles

• smoothing
  present
• smoothed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• smooth
  simple
• smooths
  simple
• have smoothed
  perfect
• has smoothed
  perfect
• am smoothing
  progressive
• are smoothing
  progressive
• is smoothing
  progressive
• have been smoothing
  perfect progressive
• has been smoothing
  perfect progressive

Past

• smoothed
  simple
• had smoothed
  perfect
• was smoothing
  progressive
• were smoothing
  progressive
• had been smoothing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will smooth
  simple
• will have smoothed
  perfect
• will be smoothing
  progressive
• will have been smoothing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of smooth

First recorded before 1050; (adjective) Middle English smothe, late Old English smōth; compare Middle English smethe, Old English smēthe “smooth”; cognate with Old Saxon smōthi; (verb) late Middle English smothen, derivative of the adjective; replacing Middle English smethen, Old English smēth(i)an

Explanation

Something smooth is free of roughness, stubble, or other imperfections that you can feel with your hands. If your wooden table is giving you splinters, use a sander to smooth it down and make it smooth. As you can see, smooth works as both a verb and an adjective. Smooth has lots of interesting uses: Caught in a wind storm? Better smooth out your hair when you head inside. Got a friend who's good with the ladies? Try imitating his smooth moves. Need help to smooth out a dispute between two friends? Invite them out for coffee and offer to help them smooth out their differences. Some pianists prefer ivory keys to plastic because they're less smooth, and their fingers don't slip. The best dancers can move smoothly from one move to another.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

smooth smoother smoothest smooths smoothed smoothing

But by making strides in integrating agency, belonging and cause into your life, you pave the way for a smooth transition.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

As wide of a lead as the Dodgers have in the division race, their season hasn’t been smooth sailing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Instead of the smooth, narrow tubes commonly drawn extending from nerve cells, some axons resemble strings of tiny pearls.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

In the occupied West Bank's arid region of Masafer Yatta, Emar made a smooth concrete floor on two caves' rough limestone ground before applying a white limewash on the brittle stone walls.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

I look down and notice that my hem has bunched up on one side and is no longer smooth.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

In a statement, DfT said journeys on the new fleet would be "quieter, smoother and more reliable", while offering "improved accessibility, more luggage space and onboard Wi-Fi".

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Garcetti’s promise of a smoother process was backed by close attention to detail and constant monitoring inside City Hall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

While Phobos is heavily marked by craters, Deimos appears smoother because much of its surface is covered by loose dust and rocky debris known as regolith.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Plus: Tyson plans to close another beef plant; tariff-refund process proves smoother than expected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The drive had been wider then, and smoother too, better kept.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Heidi Alexander and Apostolos Tzitzikostas agreed to "work together with aim for smoothest possible EES checks ahead of the busy summer period", the UK government said.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Even at the Carpenters’ smoothest, I hear deep sadness in Karen’s singing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Glass scientists who worked on developing the smoothest and lightest smartphone displays are now also spending time on specialized glass for packaging advanced AI processing chips, according to industry executives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026

But it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride.

From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025

They came where the stone was smoothest: scratches, lines, curves, and strikes.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

The language smooths out, the argument grows more confident, and the hesitation fades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

The combination smooths earnings compared to pure production-driven models.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 28, 2026

This smooths out optical distortions while avoiding extra noise that could be mistaken for real gravitational-wave signals.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2025

It smooths out the noise and highlights the true character of the stock.

From Barron's ● Dec. 4, 2025

Tats leans over and smooths the back of my hair.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Munich's Allianz Arena is sculpted by thousands of diamond-shaped inflatable cushions, while Sydney's similarly named Allianz Stadium has a flatter facade smoothed with long bronze fins.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Her overseas posting and relocation were smoothed by $1.2 million in perks, covering housing-related costs, lease termination, tuition, tax prep and other benefits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Ahead of the opening arguments, Rinderknecht smoothed back his hair and his lawyer helped adjust his tie, before giving him a pat on the back.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

"What used to look like a single structure now resolves into many, and details that were smoothed away before, are now clearly visible."

From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026

Perilee smoothed her fingers over the quilt top.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

“As researchers, we think about smoothing consumption,” said Greig.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Team boss Frederic Vasseur, who said he would talk to the drivers before discussing this in the media, has some smoothing out to do before this weekend's race in Madrid.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

While Loretta Lynn, Bobbie Gentry and Jeannie C. Riley began to change that image in the 1960s, Ms. Parton transcended countrypolitan Nashville by embracing her rural heritage, not smoothing it out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

During the album’s rollout, the pop star’s visage was perfected with the help of some uncanny AI smoothing, while her accompanying “Confessions II” short film featured a team of AI artists in the credits.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Ama steps in front of us, straightening her posture and smoothing her shirt.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• continuous
• creamy
• easy
• effortless
• flat
• fluid
• gentle
• glossy
• mild
• peaceful
• polished
• quiet
• serene
• shiny
• silky
• sleek
• soft
• stable
• steady
• tranquil