smarts

/ (smɑːts) /

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pl n

slang, mainly US know-how, intelligence, or witsstreet smarts

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Words nearby smarts

smartish, smart mob, smart money, smartmouth, smartphone, smarts, smart sanction, smart set, smartwatch, smart weapons, smartweed

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

How to use smarts in a sentence

We channeled all our criminal smarts into finding ways to con the food system.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison|Daniel Genis|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kobeissi still gets criticized as an outsider, and it still smarts.
Crypto for the Masses: Here’s How You Can Resist the NSA|Quinn Norton|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The one thing they all seemed to have in common was an utter lack of street smarts.
Preppy Drug Bust High on Hype|Christopher Moraff|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some people have the smarts to grow the economic pie more than others and will end up serving themselves a relatively big slice.
Never Mind Inequality: Silicon Valley Enriches All of Our Lives|Gregory Ferenstein|May 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Yet seriously there cannot be any doubt about Ted Cruz's "smarts."
Why Does Ted Cruz Inspire Such Animosity?|David Frum|May 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Possibly there was considerable of irony in it too, the kind that smarts with all lads.
The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour|George A. Warren
Zu schwer bezahlt man oft ein leicht Versehn—One often smarts pretty sharply for a slight mistake.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
Her eye smarts or itches; and without thinking, she rubs it with a finger covered with the Magical Ointment.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
I hoped he'd had the smarts to wipe his fingerprints off the quarter, keep his hood up, and leave all his arphids at home.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow
Occasionally, I tried to take the long-hoarded sting out of these compunctious smarts by attending divine service in the open air.
Our Old Home, Vol. 2|Nathaniel Hawthorne

smarts

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How to use smarts in a sentence