smash

[ smash ]

/ smæʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smash ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to break to pieces with violence and often with a crashing sound, as by striking, letting fall, or dashing against something; shatter: He smashed the vase against the wall.

to defeat, disappoint, or disillusion utterly.

to hit or strike (someone or something) with force.

to overthrow or destroy something considered as harmful: They smashed the drug racket.

to ruin financially: The depression smashed him.

Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis. to hit (a ball or shuttlecock) overhead or overhand with a hard downward motion, causing the shot to move very swiftly and to strike the ground or table usually at a sharp angle.

verb (used without object)

to break to pieces from a violent blow or collision.

to dash with a shattering or crushing force or with great violence; crash (usually followed by against, into, through, etc.).

to become financially ruined or bankrupt (often followed by up).

to flatten and compress the signatures of a book in a press before binding.

noun

the act or an instance of smashing or shattering.

the sound of such a smash.

a blow, hit, or slap.

a destructive collision, as between automobiles.

a smashed or shattered condition.

a process or state of collapse, ruin, or destruction: the total smash that another war would surely bring.

financial failure or ruin.

Informal. smash hit.

a drink made of brandy, or other liquor, with sugar, water, mint, and ice.

Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis.

an overhead or overhand stroke in which the ball or shuttlecock is hit with a hard, downward motion causing it to move very swiftly and to strike the ground or table usually at a sharp angle.
a ball hit with such a stroke.

adjective

of, relating to, or constituting a great success: That composer has written many smash tunes.

Nearby words

smarts, smartwatch, smartweed, smarty, smarty-pants, smash, smash hit, smash-and-grab, smash-up, smashed, smasher

Origin of smash

1690–1700; perhaps blend of smack² and mash¹

SYNONYMS FOR smash

5 bankrupt.

11 crash.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smash ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formssmash·a·ble, adjective

Synonym study

1. See break.

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

Examples from the Web for smash

Sid Vicious is stomping all over Steve Jones, about to smash in his guitar (again).
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the end of the session, when we listened back to all we had laid down that day, I was sure I had a smash hit.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More|Gary Wright|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Every aspiring DJ could smash and grab himself a mixer and some turntables.
Bam! Pow! Bling! Hip-Hop's History Gets the Graphic Novel Treatment|Daniel Genis|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then there were those songs that were either too half-baked or half-hearted to even fool us into turning them into smash hits.
Can Jessie J’s ‘Bang Bang’ Save Us From This Awful Musical Summer?|Kevin Fallon|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“2-4-6-8, smash the church and smash the state,” people shouted.
Were Christians Right About Gay Marriage All Along?|Jay Michaelson|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Once he discovered that, he would discover also—where the smash would come.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
To originate a smash means more tasting than there is when there is no use in stewing more than has been put in there to stay.
Geography and Plays|Gertrude Stein
And then, when the gruel is eaten up, smash the bowl on the ground.
Foma Gordyeff|Maxim Gorky
Willing to take the heaviest blow, if only he might land as heavy a smash in return, Dan tore away at his foe.
Buff: A Collie and other dog-stories|Albert Payson Terhune
We have naught to smash his boat with, but we'll just take it along with us.
Blackbeard: Buccaneer|Ralph D. Paine

British Dictionary definitions for smash

smash

/ (smæʃ) /

verb

to break into pieces violently and usually noisily

(when intr, foll by against, through, into, etc) to throw or crash (against) vigorously, causing shatteringhe smashed the equipment; it smashed against the wall

(tr) to hit forcefully and suddenly

(tr) tennis squash badminton to hit (the ball) fast and powerfully, esp with an overhead stroke

(tr) to defeat or wreck (persons, theories, etc)

(tr) to make bankrupt

(intr) to collide violently; crash

(intr often foll by up) to go bankrupt

smash someone's face in informal to beat someone severely

noun

an act, instance, or sound of smashing or the state of being smashed

a violent collision, esp of vehicles

a total failure or collapse, as of a business

tennis squash badminton a fast and powerful overhead stroke

informal

something having popular success
(in combination)smash-hit

slang loose change; coins

adverb

with a smash

Word Origin for smash

C18: probably from sm (ack ² + m) ash

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 smash (1 of 2)

smash

1759, "break to pieces," earlier "kick downstairs" (c.1700), probably of imitative origin (cf. smack (v.), mash (v.), crush (v.)). Meaning "act with crushing force" is from 1813; that of "strike violently" is from 1835. Tennis sense is from 1882. Smash-and-grab (adj.) is first attested 1927.

Word Origin and History for smash (1 of 2)

smash

1725, "hard blow," from smash (v.). Meaning "broken-up condition" is from 1798; that of "failure, financial collapse" is from 1839. Tennis sense is from 1882. Meaning "great success" is from 1923 ("Variety" headline, Oct. 16, in reference to Broadway productions of "The Fool" and "The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly").

smash

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

adjective

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Origin of smash

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for smash

British Dictionary definitions for smash

smash

verb

noun

adverb

Word Origin for smash

Word Origin and History for smash (1 of 2)

smash

Word Origin and History for smash (1 of 2)

smash