Synonyms

smarty-pants

American

[smahr-tee-pants] / ˈsmɑr tiˌpænts /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

smart aleck.

He's just a smarty-pants, showing off for some girls.
a smart person.

My kid is a super smarty-pants who continues to get 4s on her state exams.
(used as a mildly abusive term of address or to refer to someone with contempt).

Who invited that smarty-pants--everyone hates her!

smarty-pants British

/ ˈsmɑːtɪˌbuːts, ˈsmɑːtɪˌpænts /

noun

informal (functioning as singular) a would-be clever person

"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

Etymology

Origin of smarty-pants

First recorded in 1915–20

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023