smack

[smak]

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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.

Origin of smack

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

Synonyms for smack

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smack ON THESAURUS.COM

1. savor. 2. hint. 4. taste, suggest.

smack

[smak]

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

1550–60; imitative; compare Dutch, Low German smakken, German (dial.) schmacken

smack

[smak]

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

smack

⁴

[smak]

noun Slang.

heroin.

Origin of smack

⁴

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

Henderson

[hen-der-suh n]

noun

Arthur,1863–1935, British statesman and labor leader: Nobel Peace Prize 1934.

David Brem·ner

[brem-ner] /ˈbrɛm nər/, 1840–1906, U.S. political leader: Speaker of the House 1899–1903.

FletcherSmack, 1898–1952, U.S. jazz pianist, arranger, and bandleader.

a city in NW Kentucky, on the Ohio River.

a city in SE Nevada, near Las Vegas.

a city in N North Carolina.

a town in E Texas.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for smack

squarely, bang, sharp, straight, right, square, plumb, blow, box, spank, tap, buffet, pat, sock, punch, slap, chop, blip, cuff, clout

Examples from the Web for smack

Contemporary Examples of smack

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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of smack

My eyes ached and my lips prinkled with the smack of the powder.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
The deck of the smack below promised to mash the American into a pulp.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
She called him her "slapjack" and would tell him to come and have his smack!
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille
Emile Zola
It's wrong of them to smack her, for she will never put up with it.
Fruitfulness
Emile Zola
I can't; last time I saw him he said when he caught me again he'd smack my head.
The Golden Age
Kenneth Grahame

British Dictionary definitions for smack

smack

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

smack

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

smack

noun

a slang word for heroin

Word Origin for smack

C20: perhaps from Yiddish schmeck

smack

⁴

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

Henderson

noun

Arthur. 1863–1935, British Labour politician. As foreign secretary (1929–31) he supported the League of Nations and international disarmament; Nobel peace prize 1934

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

Word Origin and History for smack

n.1

"a taste, flavor, savor" especially a slight flavor that suggests something, from Old English smæc "taste; scent, odor," from Proto-Germanic *smak- (cf. Old Frisian smek, Middle Dutch smæck, Dutch smaak, Old High German smac, German Geschmack, Swedish smak, Danish smag), from a Germanic and Baltic root *smeg- meaning "to taste" (cf. Lithuanian smaguriai "dainties," smagus "pleasing"). Meaning "a trace (of something)" is attested from 1530s.

v.1

"make a sharp noise with the lips," 1550s, probably of imitative origin (see smack (v.2)). With adverbial force, "suddenly, directly," from 1782; extended form smack-dab is attested from 1892, American English colloquial (slap-dab is from 1886).

n.3

single-masted sailboat, 1610s, probably from Dutch or Low German smak "sailboat," perhaps from smakken "to fling, dash" (see smack (v.2)), perhaps so-called from the sound made by its sails. French semaque, Spanish zumaca, Italian semacca probably are Germanic borrowings.

n.4

"heroin," 1942, American English slang, probably an alteration of schmeck "a drug," especially heroin (1932), from Yiddish schmeck "a sniff."

v.2

"to slap a flat surface with the hand," 1835, from smack (n.) in this sense; perhaps influenced by Low German smacken "to strike, throw," which is likely of imitative origin (cf. Swedish smak "slap," Middle Low German smacken, Frisian smakke, Dutch smakken "to fling down," Lithuanian smagiu "to strike, knock down, whip").

v.3

mid-13c., "to smell (something"); mid-14c., "to taste (something), perceive by taste" (transitive); late 14c. "to have a taste, taste of" (intransitive), from smack (n.1). Cf. Old English smæccan "to taste," Old Frisian smakia Middle Dutch smaecken, Old High German smakken "have a savor, scent, or taste," German schmecken "taste, try, smell, perceive." Sometimes also smatch. Now mainly in verbal figurative use smacks of ... (first attested 1590s). "Commonly but erroneously regarded as identical with [smack (n.2)], as if 'taste' proceeds from 'smacking the lips.'" [Century Dictionary]

n.2

"smart, sharp sound made by the lips," 1560s, from smack (v.1). Meaning "a loud kiss" is recorded from c.1600. Meaning "sharp sound made by hitting something with the flat of the hand" is from c.1746.

smack in Medicine

smack

[smăk]

n.

Heroin.