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.

The poet Ogden Nash famously quipped “No Thonx” to the Bronx although he admitted in later life that he regretted what he called “the sins of my smart-alec youth”.

From The Guardian • Apr. 4, 2019

Fans of NBC’s smart-alec sitcoms Community and 30 Rock are accustomed to worrying that disappointing ratings will doom their favorites to cancellation.

From Slate • Apr. 12, 2012

Now he's back with a fourth, and sadly it's all fart jokes and smart-alec preteens – the stuff that can make taking kids to the pictures a chore.

From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2011

Stone brings real warmth to Olive, who deploys smart-alec wit as a defence against the vicissitudes of high school.

From The Guardian • Oct. 21, 2010

Neylan concluded that Hurley was prevaricating—“he was the smart-alec type,” he observed later—and ordered him fired, only to learn subsequently that Latimer had quietly rehired him.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik