smack

[ smak ]

/ smæk /

noun

a taste or flavor, especially a slight flavor distinctive or suggestive of something: The chicken had just a smack of garlic.

a trace, touch, or suggestion of something.

a taste, mouthful, or small quantity.

verb (used without object)

to have a taste, flavor, trace, or suggestion: Your politeness smacks of condescension.

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Question 1 of 9

You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?

To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.

To stew in a sauce for a long time.

To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.

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Origin of smack

First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English smacke, Old English smæc; cognate with Middle Low German smak, German Geschmack “taste”; (verb) Middle English smacken “to perceive by taste, have a (specified) taste,” derivative of the noun; compare German schmacken

SYNONYMS FOR smack

1 savor.

2 hint.

4 taste, suggest.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR smack

Words nearby smack

slyly, slype, Sm, SMA, smaak, smack, smack dab, smackdown, smacker, smackeroo, smackhead

Definition for smack (2 of 4)

smack²

[ smak ]

/ smæk /

verb (used with object)

to strike sharply, especially with the open hand or a flat object.

to drive or send with a sharp, resounding blow or stroke: to smack a ball over a fence.

to close and open (the lips) smartly so as to produce a sharp sound, often as a sign of relish, as in eating.

to kiss with or as with a loud sound.

verb (used without object)

to smack the lips.

to collide, come together, or strike something forcibly.

to make a sharp sound as of striking against something.

noun

a sharp, resounding blow, especially with something flat.

a smacking of the lips, as in relish or anticipation.

a resounding or loud kiss.

adverb Informal.

suddenly and violently: He rode smack up against the side of the house.

directly; straight: The street runs smack into the center of town.

Verb Phrases

smack down, Slang. to humble (an arrogant person); rebuke or criticize severely.

Origin of smack

First recorded in 1550–60; imitative; compare Dutch, Low German smakken, German (dialectal) schmacken

Definition for smack (3 of 4)

smack³

[ smak ]

/ smæk /

noun

Eastern U.S. a fishing vessel, especially one having a well for keeping the catch alive.

British. any of various small, fully decked, fore-and-aft-rigged vessels used for trawling or coastal trading.

Origin of smack

First recorded in 1605–15, smack is from the Dutch word smak

Definition for smack (4 of 4)

smack⁴

[ smak ]

/ smæk /

noun Slang.

heroin.

Origin of smack

⁴

First recorded in 1960–65; probably special use of smack¹; compare earlier slang schmeck with same sense (from Yiddish shmek “sniff, whiff”; compare Middle High German smecken (German schmecken ) “to taste”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for smack

Then imagine a raging river where the water smacks into the piling and becomes turbulent.
This weird-looking plane could someday be a fast, clean option for air travel|Rob Verger|September 28, 2020|Popular Science
DART will travel to the 780-meter asteroid Didymos, where, in the fall of 2022, it will smack into Didymos’s 160-meter moonlet Dimorphos at well over 14,000 miles per hour.
The World’s Space Agencies Are on a Quest to Deflect a (Harmless) Asteroid|Jason Dorrier|September 27, 2020|Singularity Hub
To better understand the Hyades cluster, Oh and Evans compared the speed of stars smack in the center to those escaping from it.
Milky Way’s tidal forces are shredding a nearby star cluster|Ken Croswell|August 18, 2020|Science News For Students
To the uninitiated, this might smack of poor taste and inappropriate timing.
In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive|Peter Schwartzstein|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

His brother Sidronio immediately took over, and the Windy City reported no shortage of smack.
Mexico’s First Lady of Murder Is on the Lam|Michael Daly|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the SMU study it was found that children lasted about 10 minutes after a smack before they started misbehaving again.
The Adrian Peterson Beating and the Christian Right's Love of Corporal Punishment|Amanda Marcotte|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Hillary Clinton talked some smack on Barack Obama to Jeff Goldberg in that interview.
So How Hawkish Is Hillary Clinton?|Michael Tomasky|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, they are smack dab in the middle of a GOP primary in Mississippi.
Mississippi GOP Plays Games With Black Votes|Ben Jacobs|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I think it has a smack of Swift—a very faint one it may be, but still enough to recall the flavour.
Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. II (of II)|Edmund Downey
Sir Edward's style has always a smack of the Daily Telegraph.
Flowers of Freethought|George W. Foote
Smack—there, the rope is parted, and it is too late for further argument.
Cradock Nowell, Vol. 2 (of 3)|Richard Doddridge Blackmore
They tossed their caps in the air, they huzzaed, and proceeded towards the smack.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland|Various
A Dutch smack of about 150 tons, navigated in the German Ocean.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for smack (1 of 4)

smack¹

/ (smæk) /

noun

a smell or flavour that is distinctive though faint

a distinctive trace or touchthe smack of corruption

a small quantity, esp a mouthful or taste

verb (intr foll by of)

to have the characteristic smell or flavour (of something)to smack of the sea

to have an element suggestive (of something)his speeches smacked of bigotry

Word Origin for smack

Old English smæc; related to Old High German smoc, Icelandic smekkr a taste, Dutch smaak

British Dictionary definitions for smack (2 of 4)

smack²

/ (smæk) /

verb

(tr) to strike or slap smartly, with or as if with the open hand

to strike or send forcibly or loudly or to be struck or sent forcibly or loudly

to open and close (the lips) loudly, esp to show pleasure

(tr) to kiss noisily

noun

a sharp resounding slap or blow with something flat, or the sound of such a blow

a loud kiss

a sharp sound made by the lips, as in enjoyment

have a smack at informal, mainly British to attempt

smack in the eye informal, mainly British a snub or setback

adverb informal

directly; squarely

with a smack; sharply and unexpectedly

Word Origin for smack

C16: from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch smacken, probably of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for smack (3 of 4)

smack³

/ (smæk) /

noun

a slang word for heroin

Word Origin for smack

C20: perhaps from Yiddish schmeck

British Dictionary definitions for smack (4 of 4)

smack⁴

/ (smæk) /

noun

a sailing vessel, usually sloop-rigged, used in coasting and fishing along the British coast

a fishing vessel equipped with a well for keeping the catch alive

Word Origin for smack

C17: from Low German smack or Dutch smak, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for smack

smack

[ smăk ]

n.

Heroin.

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smack

noun

verb (used without object)

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Origin of smack

SYNONYMS FOR smack

Words nearby smack

Definition for smack (2 of 4)

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

adverb Informal.

Verb Phrases

Origin of smack

Definition for smack (3 of 4)

noun

Origin of smack

Definition for smack (4 of 4)

noun Slang.

Origin of smack

Content related to smack

Words related to smack

Example sentences from the Web for smack

British Dictionary definitions for smack (1 of 4)

noun

verb (intr foll by of)

Word Origin for smack

British Dictionary definitions for smack (2 of 4)

verb

noun

adverb informal

Word Origin for smack

British Dictionary definitions for smack (3 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for smack

British Dictionary definitions for smack (4 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for smack

Medical definitions for smack

n.