smart
verb (used without object)
to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
smart
American
[smahrt]
/ smɑrt /
verb (used without object)
-
smarts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smarted,
past participle, past
-
smarting
present participle
-
to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
-
to be the cause of a sharp, stinging pain, as an irritating application, a blow, etc.
-
to feel a sharp, stinging pain, as in a wound.
-
to suffer keenly from wounded feelings.
She smarted under their criticism.
-
to feel shame or remorse or to suffer in punishment or in return for something.
verb (used with object)
-
smarts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smarted,
past participle, past
-
smarting
present participle
adjective
-
smarter,
comparative
-
smartest
superlative
-
quick or prompt in action, as persons.
-
having or showing quick intelligence or ready mental capability.
a smart student.
- Antonyms:
- stupid
-
shrewd or sharp, as a person in dealing with others or as in business dealings.
a smart businessman.
-
clever, witty, or readily effective, as a speaker, speech, rejoinder, etc.
-
dashingly or impressively neat or trim in appearance, as persons, dress, etc.
- Synonyms:
- showy, pretentious, spruce
-
socially elegant; sophisticated or fashionable.
the smart crowd.
- Synonyms:
- chic
-
saucy; pert.
smart remarks.
-
sharply brisk, vigorous, or active.
to walk with smart steps.
- Synonyms:
- energetic
-
sharply severe, as a blow, stroke, etc.
-
sharp or keen.
a smart pain.
- Synonyms:
- penetrating, poignant
-
Digital Technology.
-
(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.
-
equipped with microprocessors, as for data processing, internet access, etc. (usually used in combination).
a smartphone;
a smartwatch.
-
-
having properties that can be changed in response to stimuli or environmental conditions; self-regulating.
smart fabrics that respond to temperature or light.
-
Older Use. considerable; fairly large.
adverb
noun
-
a sharp local pain, usually superficial, as from a wound, blow, or sting.
-
keen mental suffering, as from wounded feelings, affliction, grievous loss, etc.
-
Slang. smarts, intelligence; common sense.
He never had the smarts to use his opportunities.
smart
1
British
/ smɑːt /
adjective
-
astute, as in business; clever or bright
-
quick, witty, and often impertinent in speech
a smart talker
-
fashionable; chic
a smart hotel
-
well-kept; neat
-
causing a sharp stinging pain
-
vigorous or brisk
-
dialect considerable or numerous
a smart price
-
(of systems) operating as if by human intelligence by using automatic computer control
-
(of a projectile or bomb) containing a device that allows it to be guided to its target
verb
-
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
-
(often foll by for) to suffer a harsh penalty
noun
adverb
Smart
2
British
/ smɑːt /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
smartnessnoun
-
supersmartnessnoun
-
smartishadjective
-
supersmartadjective
-
ultrasmartadjective
-
unsmartadjective
-
unsmartingadjective
-
smartinglyadverb
-
smartlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
smartsimple
-
smartssimple
-
have smartedperfect
-
has smartedperfect
-
am smartingprogressive
-
are smartingprogressive
-
is smartingprogressive
-
have been smartingperfect progressive
-
has been smartingperfect progressive
Past
-
smartedsimple
-
had smartedperfect
-
was smartingprogressive
-
were smartingprogressive
-
had been smartingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing smart
The Sound and the Fury
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Novel Study: The Outsiders, Chapters 1–5
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Words to Describe a Teacher
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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:
Not just because she usually presents as smart and happy and sharply dressed on stage or because she’s doing incredibly well in her comedy career, or even just because she’s a millennial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Since April 2024, UK law has required manufacturers of certain consumer smart devices to meet minimum cyber security standards, including requirements around passwords and security updates.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Lee said Seoul aims to "rapidly transform our military into a smart, elite force by establishing integrated manned and unmanned systems based on AI, robots and drones".
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
The shareholders can pick and choose between the AI giants, rather than leave their choices to Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, smart as he is.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
“Oh, my smart boy. You will find a way.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“You only know Trinidad Chambliss,” Smart said of the risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Smart travelers should also shop around for the best price on a hotel or flight before making a decision, and book one to three months in advance.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
As a child, Bryan attended camps run by Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Smart investments could actually bring them down, Ryan Norris writes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
"Smart, yes. Empathic, absolutely. But the other children performed miracles. At least, so you all claim."
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Fortunately, the Bolt’s smarter software makes up for its smaller battery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Voters are smarter than that. People in the coalition see these tactics and are tired of them too.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Years later, I’ve become a more confident cook and, I think, a smarter host.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
But arriving at the future of autonomous robot helpers will require more data, smarter AI models and better hardware.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Listen to him, I thought, he’s smarter than you are.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
Meanwhile, there’s the small matter of building the smartest machine ever made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
The moves rattled Silicon Valley executives and California educators who see easy access to the smartest, hardest-working people in the world as one of America’s greatest competitive advantages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
You could have the smartest people in the world and the best relationships inside that company, all of them working brilliantly on exactly the wrong problem.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Video creator Yotam Katzor, 32, worried about what would happen when humans were no longer the smartest thing on Earth.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
They called Wall Street trading desks and asked for menus of subprime mortgage bonds, so they might find the most rotten ones and buy the smartest insurance.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
In other words, a calamity for a young man with high self-esteem and considerable spy smarts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
New Zealand's smarts initially defused the fire and fury inside the cauldron, however.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The owners know they can’t legislate smarts into their contract, so they’re trying the next best thing — tying the hands of their own big spenders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Winmill said his bets rely on smarts at the tops of companies.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
The goslings had made plenty of short flights, but a migration would require real strength and smarts.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
"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
It smarted as well that Prince Mohammed seemed to get no credit for the kingdom’s social changes, nor for his own efforts to avert regional conflict, including starting talks with the Iranians in Baghdad.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2022
It must have smarted that he was the only one of the "I Love Lucy" four principals not nominated for an acting Emmy for the show.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2022
His eyes smarted and it was as though some fever in him made everything too bright and sharp.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
But many businesses—some still smarting from being late to the AI boom—are spending big on the technology today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
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
Many 60/40 investors are still smarting from a terrible experience in 2022, when the funds’ slow-and-steady strategy appeared to backfire.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2025
It clearly left him smarting and he's not had a good word to say about wind power since.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2025
Leaves fell around them in flurries, stinging and smarting when they touched Tristran's skin, cutting and slicing at his clothes.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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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.
