smart
verb (used without object)
to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
smart
American
[smahrt]
/ smɑrt /
verb (used without object)
-
smarts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smarted,
past participle, past
-
smarting
present participle
-
to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
-
to be the cause of a sharp, stinging pain, as an irritating application, a blow, etc.
-
to feel a sharp, stinging pain, as in a wound.
-
to suffer keenly from wounded feelings.
She smarted under their criticism.
-
to feel shame or remorse or to suffer in punishment or in return for something.
verb (used with object)
-
smarts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smarted,
past participle, past
-
smarting
present participle
adjective
-
smarter,
comparative
-
smartest
superlative
-
quick or prompt in action, as persons.
-
having or showing quick intelligence or ready mental capability.
a smart student.
- Antonyms:
- stupid
-
shrewd or sharp, as a person in dealing with others or as in business dealings.
a smart businessman.
-
clever, witty, or readily effective, as a speaker, speech, rejoinder, etc.
-
dashingly or impressively neat or trim in appearance, as persons, dress, etc.
- Synonyms:
- showy, pretentious, spruce
-
socially elegant; sophisticated or fashionable.
the smart crowd.
- Synonyms:
- chic
-
saucy; pert.
smart remarks.
-
sharply brisk, vigorous, or active.
to walk with smart steps.
- Synonyms:
- energetic
-
sharply severe, as a blow, stroke, etc.
-
sharp or keen.
a smart pain.
- Synonyms:
- penetrating, poignant
-
Digital Technology.
-
(of a machine, system, etc.) equipped with electronic control mechanisms, software programs, etc., and capable of remote, automated, and seemingly intelligent operation.
smart copiers;
smart weapons;
a smart thermostat.
-
equipped with microprocessors, as for data processing, internet access, etc. (usually used in combination).
a smartphone;
a smartwatch.
-
-
having properties that can be changed in response to stimuli or environmental conditions; self-regulating.
smart fabrics that respond to temperature or light.
-
Older Use. considerable; fairly large.
adverb
noun
-
a sharp local pain, usually superficial, as from a wound, blow, or sting.
-
keen mental suffering, as from wounded feelings, affliction, grievous loss, etc.
-
Slang. smarts, intelligence; common sense.
He never had the smarts to use his opportunities.
smart
1
British
/ smɑːt /
adjective
-
astute, as in business; clever or bright
-
quick, witty, and often impertinent in speech
a smart talker
-
fashionable; chic
a smart hotel
-
well-kept; neat
-
causing a sharp stinging pain
-
vigorous or brisk
-
dialect considerable or numerous
a smart price
-
(of systems) operating as if by human intelligence by using automatic computer control
-
(of a projectile or bomb) containing a device that allows it to be guided to its target
verb
-
to feel, cause, or be the source of a sharp stinging physical pain or keen mental distress
a nettle sting smarts
he smarted under their abuse
-
(often foll by for) to suffer a harsh penalty
noun
adverb
Smart
2
British
/ smɑːt /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
smartnessnoun
-
supersmartnessnoun
-
smartishadjective
-
supersmartadjective
-
ultrasmartadjective
-
unsmartadjective
-
unsmartingadjective
-
smartinglyadverb
-
smartlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
smartsimple
-
smartssimple
-
have smartedperfect
-
has smartedperfect
-
am smartingprogressive
-
are smartingprogressive
-
is smartingprogressive
-
have been smartingperfect progressive
-
has been smartingperfect progressive
Past
-
smartedsimple
-
had smartedperfect
-
was smartingprogressive
-
were smartingprogressive
-
had been smartingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smart
First recorded before 1050; Middle English (verb) smerten, Old English -smeortan (only in the compound fyrsmeortende “painful like fire”), cognate with Old High German smerzan ( German schmerzen ); (adjective) Middle English smerte, smart “quick, prompt, sharp,” originally, “biting, smarting,” late Old English smearte, akin to the verb; (adverb and noun) Middle English smerte, derivative of the adjective
Explanation
Although smart is most often used to describe someone who is intelligent, you can also call someone a smart, chic dresser or a smart, sassy wisecracker. Smart often implies something good, but not always. If someone cautions you, "Don't be smart with me!" — they are demanding that you stop acting so bold and rude. As a verb, if something smarts, then it hurts. If your knee smarts, then you probably whacked it. However, if someone says that you are a smart dresser or a smart thinker, you can take those comments as compliments.
Vocabulary lists containing smart
The Sound and the Fury
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Novel Study: The Outsiders, Chapters 1–5
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Words to Describe a Teacher
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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:
Additional updates include Control4 automation—a smart home program that “integrates the residence.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
He elaborated in his news conference when asked by BBC Sport if he would have to tell his players to be more smart, going forward.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The shareholders can pick and choose between the AI giants, rather than leave their choices to Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, smart as he is.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
“This is not only the smart thing to do. This is the right thing to do. … It’s key to our future as Californians, whether we’re tribal or not.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
“You’ll still be smart in high school,” he tells me.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Smart travelers should also shop around for the best price on a hotel or flight before making a decision, and book one to three months in advance.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
As a child, Bryan attended camps run by Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Smart investments could actually bring them down, Ryan Norris writes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
The most prominent example of this is Maven Smart Systems, the Pentagon's main software platform for organising intelligence and data.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Smart, independent Kutti, who’d scampered off to eat scraps out of every open, overflowing garbage can we’d seen.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
“Voters are smarter than that. People in the coalition see these tactics and are tired of them too.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Years later, I’ve become a more confident cook and, I think, a smarter host.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
But arriving at the future of autonomous robot helpers will require more data, smarter AI models and better hardware.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Nintendo, he added, is "much smarter than many companies when it comes to re-releasing older games for a new audience".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
For some reason I thought them stupid and then found initially from parrots, mynah birds, crows, and ravens that they are indeed not only not ignorant and stupid but in many cases smarter than people.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
Meanwhile, there’s the small matter of building the smartest machine ever made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Donating appreciated stock is one of the smartest moves a charitably minded investor can make,” David Kassir, a managing director at Manna Wealth Management, told MarketWatch over email.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
She added: "This group of women are without doubt the best, bravest and smartest women you could ever know and I am so very proud of us all."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Video creator Yotam Katzor, 32, worried about what would happen when humans were no longer the smartest thing on Earth.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
“I think maybe that’s one of the smartest things I’ve ever heard somebody say, man.”
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
New Zealand's smarts initially defused the fire and fury inside the cauldron, however.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The owners know they can’t legislate smarts into their contract, so they’re trying the next best thing — tying the hands of their own big spenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The new Siri is powered by Apple Intelligence, which runs on Apple Foundational Models, which tap in to Google’s Gemini smarts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Winmill said his bets rely on smarts at the tops of companies.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
School was a struggle, and this was a chance to show that his street smarts more than made up for it.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Asia stocks hit a 11-week low on Wednesday as renewed concerns about U.S. interest rates slugged Wall Street, while investors still smarted from dismal Chinese economic data and the absence of meaningful stimulus.
From Reuters ● Aug. 16, 2023
There was much speculation about his state of mind, whether the scars of the first defeat still smarted.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2023
It smarted as well that Prince Mohammed seemed to get no credit for the kingdom’s social changes, nor for his own efforts to avert regional conflict, including starting talks with the Iranians in Baghdad.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2022
It must have smarted that he was the only one of the "I Love Lucy" four principals not nominated for an acting Emmy for the show.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2022
The pellets under the skin of Boxer’s leg smarted painfully.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Americans have been smarting for years over how much more expensive everything from coffee to cars has become.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Drake is smarting, and he spreads that hurt across more than an hour in the trilogy’s marquee album “Iceman.”
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
There had been an expectation that England would be smarting after the Calcutta Cup defeat, and would put it right against Ireland.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
Earlier, Pep Guardiola's City went into their match against bottom side smarting after an embarrassing 3-1 Champions League defeat at Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026
Helmuth yanks his hand away, his fingers smarting.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
