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RELATED WORDS

good, wise, bold, brilliant, agile, shrewd, slick, nimble, bright, brainy, canny, astute, quick, sharp, crafty, resourceful, active, energetic, knowing, acute

Origin of smart

before 1050; (v.) Middle English smerten, Old English -smeortan (only in the compound fyrsmeortende painful like fire), cognate with Old High German smerzan (German schmerzen); (adj.) Middle English smerte, smart quick, prompt, sharp, orig., biting, smarting, late Old English smearte, akin to the v.; (adv. and noun) Middle English smerte, derivative of the adj.
Related formssmart·ing·ly, adverbsmart·ly, adverbsmart·ness, nounsu·per·smart, adjectivesu·per·smart·ly, adverbsu·per·smart·ness, nounul·tra·smart, adjectiveun·smart, adjectiveun·smart·ing, adjective

Synonyms for smart

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smart ON THESAURUS.COM
1. pain, hurt, sting. 7. lively, nimble, agile, alert, active. 8. bright, sharp, expert, adroit. 9. cunning, adept. 11. spruce; pretentious, showy. 12. chic. 14. energetic. 16. stinging, poignant, penetrating.

Antonyms for smart

8. stupid.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for smartest

Contemporary Examples of smartest

Historical Examples of smartest

  • You're a good girl and a smart girl—the smartest and best girl there is in this town.

    Mary-'Gusta

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • He was the best, smartest and most liked person in his village.

  • She was one of the smartest women and most successful entertainers in London.

    The Missionary

    George Griffith

  • Lacy is the smartest fellow we have, and I think will be sure to find him.

  • I got the smartest children that ever was and they owe it all to their mother, every bit.

    In a Little Town

    Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for smartest

smart

adjective

astute, as in business; clever or bright
quick, witty, and often impertinent in speecha smart talker
fashionable; chica smart hotel
well-kept; neat
causing a sharp stinging pain
vigorous or brisk
dialect considerable or numerousa 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 (mainly intr)

to feel, cause, or be the source of a sharp stinging physical pain or keen mental distressa nettle sting smarts; he smarted under their abuse
(often foll by for) to suffer a harsh penalty

noun

a stinging pain or feeling

adverb

in a smart manner
Derived Formssmartish, adjectivesmartly, adverbsmartness, noun

Word Origin for smart

Old English smeortan; related to Old High German smerzan, Latin mordēre to bite, Greek smerdnos terrible

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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for smartest

smart

v.

Old English smeortan "be painful," from Proto-Germanic *smarta- (cf. Middle Dutch smerten, Dutch smarten, Old High German smerzan, German schmerzen "to pain," originally "to bite"), from PIE *smerd- "pain," an extension of the root *mer- (2) "to rub; to harm" (cf. Greek smerdnos "terrible, dreadful," Sanskrit mardayati "grinds, rubs, crushes," Latin mordere "to bite"). Related: Smarted; smarting.

smart

adj.

late Old English smeart "painful, severe, stinging; causing a sharp pain," related to smeortan (see smart (v.)). Meaning "executed with force and vigor" is from c.1300. Meaning "quick, active, clever" is attested from c.1300, from the notion of "cutting" wit, words, etc., or else "keen in bargaining." Meaning "trim in attire" first attested 1718, "ascending from the kitchen to the drawing-room c.1880" [Weekley]. For sense evolution, cf. sharp (adj.).

In reference to devices, the sense of "behaving as though guided by intelligence" (e.g. smart bomb) first attested 1972. Smarts "good sense, intelligence," is first recorded 1968. Smart cookie is from 1948.

smart

n.

"sharp pain," c.1200, from sharp (adj.). Cf. cognate Middle Dutch smerte, Dutch smart, Old High German smerzo, German Schmerz "pain."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper