smooth
Americanadjective
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smoother,
comparative
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smoothest
superlative
-
free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough.
smooth wood; a smooth road.
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generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.
-
free from hairs or a hairy growth.
a smooth cheek.
-
of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.
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free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc..
a smooth ride.
-
allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow.
smooth driving.
-
easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.
-
having projections worn away.
a smooth tire casing.
-
free from hindrances or difficulties.
a smooth day at the office.
-
noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.
-
undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene.
a smooth disposition.
-
elegant, easy, or polished.
smooth manners.
-
ingratiatingly polite or suave.
That salesman is a smooth talker.
-
free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.
-
not harsh to the ear, as sound.
the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.
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Phonetics. without aspiration.
adverb
verb (used with object)
-
smooths,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smoothed,
past participle, past
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smoothing
present participle
-
to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.
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to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away orout ).
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to free from difficulties.
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to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed byaway ).
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to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.
-
to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).
-
Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.
noun
-
act of smoothing.
She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.
-
something that is smooth; a smooth part or place.
through the rough and the smooth.
verb phrase
adjective
-
resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities
-
silky to the touch
smooth velvet
-
lacking roughness of surface; flat
-
tranquil or unruffled
smooth temper
-
lacking obstructions or difficulties
-
-
suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity
-
( in combination )
smooth-tongued
-
-
(of the skin) free from hair
-
of uniform consistency
smooth batter
-
not erratic; free from jolts
smooth driving
-
not harsh or astringent
a smooth wine
-
having all projections worn away
smooth tyres
-
maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point
-
phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration
-
gentle to the ear; flowing
-
physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless
adverb
verb
-
to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions
-
to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth
she smoothed out the creases in her dress
-
to make calm; soothe
-
to make easier
smooth his path
-
electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply
-
obsolete to make more polished or refined
noun
-
the smooth part of something
-
the act of smoothing
-
tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line Compare rough
Synonym Usage
See level.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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oversmoothnessnoun
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smoothernoun
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smoothnessnoun
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unsmoothnessnoun
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presmoothverb (used with object)
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resmoothverb (used with object)
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oversmoothadjective
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smoothableadjective
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unsmoothadjective
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unsmoothedadjective
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oversmoothlyadverb
-
smoothlyadverb
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unsmoothlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smoothsimple
-
smoothssimple
-
have smoothedperfect
-
has smoothedperfect
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am smoothingprogressive
-
are smoothingprogressive
-
is smoothingprogressive
-
have been smoothingperfect progressive
-
has been smoothingperfect progressive
Past
-
smoothedsimple
-
had smoothedperfect
-
was smoothingprogressive
-
were smoothingprogressive
-
had been smoothingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing smooth
Mellow Out: Synonyms for "Calm"
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It rattles against the hard edges of your brain until it gets polished and smooth.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
"They helped my Premier League career flourish and obviously the management, the staff behind the scenes, they were all amazing, they made everything so smooth."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Plus, dermatology clients are opting for ‘strategic wrinkling’ over completely smooth foreheads; and as Gen Z drinks less, Gen X is still down to party.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Calcium entering smooth muscle cells plays a central role in triggering contraction.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
I closed my eyes and rested my head on the warm, smooth branch next to me.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Today, it appears the singer is enjoying a much smoother ride, financially, with estimates placing her net worth at a staggering $360 million.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Arabica, the smoother bean used in many premium coffees, was also hurt by Brazil’s weather problems.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
To prevent wild price swings and ensure a smoother launch, a greenshoe agreement lets the banks handling the listing sell more shares than originally planned.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
The enriched whey protein delivered improved texture characteristics and reduced the amount of friction experienced in the mouth, creating a smoother drinking experience.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026
A smoother voice goes, “Who would’ve thought a Guardian would help scavengers?”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Blue Owl’s future will depend on whether Ostrover and Lipschultz, two of Wall Street’s smoothest salesmen, can assuage concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
Your Party has not got off to the smoothest of starts.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
But it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride.
From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025
“Not the smoothest of rides to get here,” first baseman Freddie Feeman added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
In his smoothest Texas voice, C. J. Peters said, “It’s a rather rare viral disease that has been responsible for human fatalities in outbreaks in Zaire and Sudan within the past ten or twelve years.”
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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
Nate pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and smooths it out on his thigh.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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
The report may have smoothed over some frayed nerves about artificial intelligence coming for jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
Few automobile exteriors are ever finished like this, with its broad, sterling-like chrome garnishes at the lower grille intakes, the rocker panels, exhaust outlets and bumpers, all smoothed perfectly into the blown-glass curvatures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
And in a culture so hellbent on idol worship and exhausting discourse, where every blemish is smoothed out or screamed at, “SNL” still offers us something scrappy and unvarnished.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
With one hand she smoothed her dark blond hair, which was arranged in an elegant chignon at the nape of her neck.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
These accounts collide with the present era’s eerie uncertainty at every turn, making for an altogether riveting, cyclical listening experience that tells her life’s story without smoothing its contradictions.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
It can work for some people who prefer the “pull off the Band-Aid approach,” but for most, smoothing out the tax consequences works best.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
The visit was officially meant to celebrate transatlantic ties as the United States marks its 250th anniversary of independence from Britain, but much of Charles's time has been spent smoothing over tensions over Iran.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Finds included bone pegs for stretching vellum as it dried, and tools such as knives and pumice stones for scraping and smoothing animal hides.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
“I’m okay,” Mrs. Williams said, brushing herself off and smoothing out her clothes.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
