smart
verb (used without object)
to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
smarting
-
present participleof smart.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
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.
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
England, without a Six Nations title since 2020, will now face a Scotland side smarting from an 18-15 opening loss to Italy in Rome.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
Americans are still smarting from a surge of food prices in the wake of the pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2025
Her eyes roved across my face, which was smarting with pain, and then settled on your cut lip, but she didn’t comment.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
