smart ass
noun
a wise guy; know-it-all.
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smart ass
1 American
Also
smartass
noun
Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.
smart-ass
2
American
[smahrt-as]
/ ˈsmɑrtˌæs /
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of smart ass1
First recorded in 1905–10
Origin of smart-ass2
First recorded in 1955–60
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.
“Yes, he was a smart ass and would never miss an opportunity to crack a joke at someone else’s expense, but he would happily give you the shirt off his back,” Roy wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2023
“My smart ass would tell him,” Vanessa Bryant said, “that he wasn’t going to drop 81 points within the first 10 minutes of the game.”
From Washington Post • Feb. 24, 2020
I let that delusion go when I was about 15, but the recent case of the Indian couple who had their first child in their 70s put me in a smart ass mood.
From The Guardian • May 28, 2016
So when he arrived halfway through last night’s Emmy Awards to inject some much-needed smart ass humor into what was otherwise a three-hour layover of recycled Matthew McConaughey jokes, why wouldn’t we be excited?
From Salon • Aug. 26, 2014
Look, sure we all love a smart ass, Han was always cooler than Luke, Logan will always be cooler than Cyclops etc etc etc and so it goes.
From Time • May 3, 2013
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.
