smart aleck
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of smart aleck
An Americanism first recorded in 1860–65; generic use of Aleck, nickname for Alexander
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.
Some sued, some sent smart aleck responses and some refused to answer the email.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2025
Q. Stuck in the middle: My father has always been a smart aleck who loves practical jokes and discreetly needling people.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2021
The puppet replied, “Eddie, how long have you been on the air?” — leading Sullivan to retort, “Topo, nobody likes a smart aleck mouse.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 10, 2019
OK, a smart aleck would say that’s a low bar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2019
Then I heard him whisper something under his breath, and it had just the tone of a first-class smart aleck.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
