smart ass
noun
a wise guy; know-it-all.
smart ass
1 American
Also
smartass
noun
Slang: Sometimes Vulgar.
smart-ass
2
American
[smahrt-as]
/ ˈsmɑrtˌæs /
adjective
noun
-
smart-asses
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
“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
I think there was one, “You get a free coffin with every patient” or something — smart-ass cutting remarks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2022
The 58-year-old Pitt, Collin stressed, was "badly miscast" as the movie's "motor-mouthing smart-ass" leading man.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2022
As expected, it features lots of explosions and smart-ass quips — but it also looks like a lot of fun.
From The Verge ● Sep. 25, 2021
His belligerent, bleating, entitled, prevaricating, smart-ass Jock Culture posturing reminded me of the boys I had been trying to dodge all my life and, in the end, couldn’t help writing about.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2018
My whole career is in jeopardy, Officer Delinko thought angrily, all because of some smart-ass juvenile delinquents.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Lucas was blasted by everyone from smart-asses in Ain’t It Cool News’ comments section to Red Letter Media’s Mr. Plinkett, who showed, excruciatingly and shot by shot, how Lucas had screwed up.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 4, 2016
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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.
