smother
Americanverb (used with object)
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smothers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smothered,
past participle, past
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smothering
present participle
-
to stifle or suffocate, as by smoke or other means of preventing free breathing.
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to extinguish or deaden (fire, coals, etc.) by covering so as to exclude air.
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to cover closely or thickly; envelop.
to smother a steak with mushrooms.
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to suppress or repress.
to smother feelings.
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Cooking. to steam (food) slowly in a heavy, tightly closed vessel with a minimum of liquid.
smothered chicken and onions.
verb (used without object)
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smothers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smothered,
past participle, past
-
smothering
present participle
-
to become stifled or suffocated; be prevented from breathing.
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to be stifled; be suppressed or concealed.
noun
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dense, stifling smoke.
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a smoking or smoldering state, as of burning matter.
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dust, fog, spray, etc., in a dense or enveloping cloud.
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an overspreading profusion of anything.
a smother of papers.
verb
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to suffocate or stifle by cutting off or being cut off from the air
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(tr) to surround (with) or envelop (in)
he smothered her with love
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(tr) to extinguish (a fire) by covering so as to cut it off from the air
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to be or cause to be suppressed or stifled
smother a giggle
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(tr) to cook or serve (food) thickly covered with sauce, etc
noun
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anything, such as a cloud of smoke, that stifles
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a profusion or turmoil
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archaic a state of smouldering or a smouldering fire
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-smotheredadjective
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smotherableadjective
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smotheryadjective
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unsmotherableadjective
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unsmotheredadjective
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unsmotheringadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smothersimple
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smotherssimple
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have smotheredperfect
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has smotheredperfect
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am smotheringprogressive
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are smotheringprogressive
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is smotheringprogressive
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have been smotheringperfect progressive
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has been smotheringperfect progressive
Past
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smotheredsimple
-
had smotheredperfect
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was smotheringprogressive
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were smotheringprogressive
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had been smotheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smother
1125–75; (noun) Middle English smorther dense smoke; akin to Old English smorian to suffocate; (v.) Middle English smo ( r ) theren, derivative of the noun
Explanation
To smother is to overwhelm or suffocate. If you've ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend who calls you twenty five times an hour to check up on you, then you know what it means to be smothered by someone. The word smother literally means to deprive of oxygen, so it can be used to refer to someone who gets suffocated by a pillow. In everyday conversation, the word is often used to refer to the act of making someone feel like they’re being deprived of oxygen or personal space. If you have a mother who likes to smother you by asking where you're going every time you see her, then it's likely you’re already dreaming of moving out!
Vocabulary lists containing smother
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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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:
Working at low tide with her owner, Dr Texa Sim, black labrador Sgiath has found hundreds of colonies of the sea squirt, which - if left uncontrolled - can smother and kill native species.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
“We need to handle this new technology like we have others in the past and make sure we’re doing everything we can responsibly to also not smother American innovation,” Johnson added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
We’ve been able to ruthlessly and mostly successfully smother the group from threatening the U.S. mainland and American interests abroad.
From Slate ● Apr. 21, 2026
The challenge for policymakers, then, is to resist the temptation to smother AI with fear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Rosebud tried to bite her owner, causing Mariam to smother a giggle.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
L.A.’s heat-seeking “Showtime” franchise is obsessed over more than any other, in good times and especially troubled ones, to the point where it smothers other NBA coverage and drives many fans nuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2025
Indeed, one can imagine many families might value their child being exposed to a different language at a young age, but this rule smothers this opportunity.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2022
João Guilherme twitches and groans in recognition when his father lifts him in the air, when his mother smothers him with kisses and when his sisters walk by and drop a smooch on his head.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
Kilduff said the nonprofits are demanding an environmental impact statement in part because of new information on how dredging smothers corals.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
All it took was a fire, nearly dying, and being rescued by humans and healed in a box to make me feel it: a desire to play that smothers everything else.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Workers sweated in choking heat and pupils stayed home on Tuesday as an early-summer heatwave smothered much of Europe, sparking health warnings.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
He has added gold trim to the crown molding, smothered the walls with gold-framed artworks and gold-painted embellishments, placed inch-thick gold coasters on the desk, and lined up gold urns on the mantel.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
The Fire defense smothered her, and while Erica Wheeler and Ogwumike made some shots early, the Sparks mostly didn’t make Portland pay for doubling up their star.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
By contrast, my father smothered me with affection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
Clearly I did, because here I am at his kitchen table with the fragrance of an omelet smothered in some kind of tomatoey-oniony-garlicky sauce tickling my olfactory epithelium.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
Ms. Cline inhabits his thoughts in close third-person and though she writes in the past tense, her narration evokes an intimate, sometimes smothering feeling of presentness—of being confined within David’s immediate consciousness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Critics fear deep-sea mining will cause irreversible damage, smothering marine life in plumes of waste and disrupting oceanic migrations with the thrum of heavy machinery.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Some species may have acted as fire ladders, helping flames move through the landscape while also crowding out and smothering other vegetation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
And a smothering Iranian defense that frequently packed seven players in the box added to that frustration Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
The cold of the North Atlantic, the smothering heat of the tropics, the days and nights of fighting storms—all seemed very far away now.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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