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• smart
  smart

  verb (used without object)

  to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
• Smart
  Smart

  noun

  Christopher. 1722–71, British poet, author of A Song to David (1763) and Jubilate Agno (written 1758–63, published 1939). He was confined (1756–63) for religious mania and died in a debtors' prison

smart

American  

[smahrt] / smɑrt /

verb (used without object)

• smarts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• smarted,
  past participle,  past
• smarting
  present participle

1. to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.

   Synonyms:

   sting, hurt, pain

2. to be the cause of a sharp, stinging pain, as an irritating application, a blow, etc.

3. to feel a sharp, stinging pain, as in a wound.

4. to suffer keenly from wounded feelings.

   She smarted under their criticism.

5. to feel shame or remorse or to suffer in punishment or in return for something.

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verb (used with object)

• smarts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• smarted,
  past participle,  past
• smarting
  present participle

1. to cause a sharp pain to or in.

adjective

• smarter,
  comparative
• smartest
  superlative

1. quick or prompt in action, as persons.

   Synonyms:

   active, alert, agile, nimble, lively

2. having or showing quick intelligence or ready mental capability.

   a smart student.

   Synonyms:

   adroit, expert, sharp, bright

   Antonyms:

   stupid

3. shrewd or sharp, as a person in dealing with others or as in business dealings.

   a smart businessman.

   Synonyms:

   adept, cunning

4. clever, witty, or readily effective, as a speaker, speech, rejoinder, etc.

5. dashingly or impressively neat or trim in appearance, as persons, dress, etc.

   Synonyms:

   showy, pretentious, spruce

6. socially elegant; sophisticated or fashionable.

   the smart crowd.

   Synonyms:

   chic

7. saucy; pert.

   smart remarks.

8. sharply brisk, vigorous, or active.

   to walk with smart steps.

   Synonyms:

   energetic

9. sharply severe, as a blow, stroke, etc.

10. sharp or keen.

    a smart pain.

    Synonyms:

    penetrating, poignant

11. Digital Technology.

    1. (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.

    2. equipped with microprocessors, as for data processing, internet access, etc. (usually used in combination).

       a smartphone;

       a smartwatch.

12. having properties that can be changed in response to stimuli or environmental conditions; self-regulating.

    smart fabrics that respond to temperature or light.

13. Older Use. considerable; fairly large.

adverb

1. in a smart manner; smartly.

noun

1. a sharp local pain, usually superficial, as from a wound, blow, or sting.

2. keen mental suffering, as from wounded feelings, affliction, grievous loss, etc.

3. Slang. smarts, intelligence; common sense.

   He never had the smarts to use his opportunities.

smart ¹ British  

/ smɑːt /

adjective

1. astute, as in business; clever or bright

2. quick, witty, and often impertinent in speech

   a smart talker

3. fashionable; chic

   a smart hotel

4. well-kept; neat

5. causing a sharp stinging pain

6. vigorous or brisk

7. dialect considerable or numerous

   a smart price

8. (of systems) operating as if by human intelligence by using automatic computer control

9. (of a projectile or bomb) containing a device that allows it to be guided to its target

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verb

1. 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

2. (often foll by for) to suffer a harsh penalty

noun

1. a stinging pain or feeling

adverb

1. in a smart manner

Smart ² British  

/ smɑːt /

noun

1. Christopher. 1722–71, British poet, author of A Song to David (1763) and Jubilate Agno (written 1758–63, published 1939). He was confined (1756–63) for religious mania and died in a debtors' prison

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• smartness
  noun
• supersmartness
  noun
• smartish
  adjective
• supersmart
  adjective
• ultrasmart
  adjective
• unsmart
  adjective
• unsmarting
  adjective
• smartingly
  adverb
• smartly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• smarter
  comparative
• smartest
  superlative

Participles

• smarting
  present
• smarted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• smart
  simple
• smarts
  simple
• have smarted
  perfect
• has smarted
  perfect
• am smarting
  progressive
• are smarting
  progressive
• is smarting
  progressive
• have been smarting
  perfect progressive
• has been smarting
  perfect progressive

Past

• smarted
  simple
• had smarted
  perfect
• was smarting
  progressive
• were smarting
  progressive
• had been smarting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will smart
  simple
• will have smarted
  perfect
• will be smarting
  progressive
• will have been smarting
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

smart Smart smarter smartest smarts smarted smarting

Then the smart gene kicked in, remembering it’s a penalty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Vance has turned his marriage into a 21st century “Taming of the Shrew,” selling his audience the fantasy of taking a smart, accomplished career woman and reducing her to a submissive housewife.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

Cook’s calculation to rent rather than build AI is widely seen as a smart move, too.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Price of the smart glasses being introduced by Snap this month, nearly a decade after its Spectacles started piling up unsold in warehouses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

“You think you’re so smart, Novis. But I’m done playing games with you. I’m going to have a talk with your superiors. I’m going to strongly recommend that you be removed from the Park.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Smart investments in nutrition, health and education routinely deliver $40 to $110 in social benefits per dollar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

But it also means they will not normally qualify for the Smart Export Guarantee that pays people for excess solar power.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

For the Smart Infrastructure division alone, orders jumped 42 percent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Smart & Final is a 10-minute bus ride away in Lincoln Heights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

“Gonna corner the hipster market on this train, then? Smart, Moss. Very smart.”

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

So when the “young upstart” Stewart comes around, “my character’s thought is, ‘I’m far wiser, I’m far smarter, I’m the only one who’s ever done this before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Having taken the role on an interim basis during the Six Nations, Mitchell said that the coaching group is "smarter" with Scarratt's inclusion.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

But with science, medicine and smarter policies, we’re beginning to change the rules of the game.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

Someone smarter than me can do that calculation.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

I got better grades on our tests, but he was sure he was smarter than me.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

"He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams," Dolly wrote.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Making it seem as though there is no way that the former governor of California could do this because not even the smartest professor at Yale Law School can do this.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

At another, President Trump tells Dr. Fauci, “Lou Dobbs . . . told me that you were one of the smartest, knowledgeable and outstanding persons he knows.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

If I do decide to make a change, what’s the smartest way to approach a career shift like this?

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

He figured that might not be the smartest idea, but frankly, it was just too tempting to resist.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

He first impressed Sayre as a law clerk 20 years ago for his smarts and “because I spoke Spanish and he didn’t know many people of Middle Eastern heritage who did.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Winmill said his bets rely on smarts at the tops of companies.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

Resident birds show more smarts than migratory ones, and city birds are sharper than their country brethren.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

While Borthwick has generally been wedded to speed and breakdown smarts in his back row, there is the option of adding some bosh.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

He used his mind, his heart, his incredible street smarts, and his fortune to save our lives.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

"The media world is unrecognisable from the one he stepped into seventy years ago and the decision to scrap plans to reunite his empire must have smarted."

From Reuters ● Sep. 21, 2023

There was much speculation about his state of mind, whether the scars of the first defeat still smarted.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2023

The result smarted: a 2-0 defeat before an announced 16,073.

From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022

When such flourishes distressed Obama advisers, Mr. Biden — who had been his own boss for decades — smarted at having his political intuition questioned or overruled, former aides say.

From New York Times ● May 11, 2020

Mr. and Mrs. Glass’s bedroom reeked, and even smarted, of freshly painted walls.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger

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

Ireland come into the match smarting from their 36-14 loss to France in their tournament opener last week.

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

Derek Weeks started his search about six months ago, still smarting from last Christmas when he couldn’t secure a reindeer to go with his Santa.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

Nina had stomped off, pride smarting, embarrassed by the tears filling her eyes.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Related Words

• agile
• astute
• bold
• brainy
• bright
• brilliant
• canny
• crafty
• good
• nimble
• quick
• resourceful
• sharp
• shrewd
• slick
• wise