smash

[ smash ]

/ smæʃ /

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See synonyms for: smash / smashed / smasher / smashest 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR smash

5 bankrupt.

11 crash.

See synonyms for smash on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of smash

1690–1700; perhaps blend of smack² and mash¹

synonym study for smash

1. See break.

OTHER WORDS FROM smash

smash·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby smash

smart weapons, smartweed, smart wool, smarty, smarty-pants, smash, smash-and-grab, smashed, smasher, smash hit, smashing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smash in a sentence

Congratulations to Jane Fraser on smashing Wall Street’s glass ceiling.
‘It has to have an impact’: What Citi’s new CEO means for other women on Wall Street|Maria Aspan|September 16, 2020|Fortune
Although Apple Watch is not, perhaps, a smash hit on the scale of the iPhone or the iPod, it’s by far the best-selling smartwatch in the world.
Two new Apple Watches announced at Apple’s ‘Time Flies’ event|Aaron Pressman|September 15, 2020|Fortune
When the series debuted in the UK in 2011 and became a smash hit, it paved the way for it to become an international sensation and therefore create many copycats.
One Good Thing: A Danish drama perfect for political devotees, now on Netflix|Emily VanDerWerff|September 11, 2020|Vox
When you find your parked car, you notice the smashed taillight.
The first murder|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review

While conventional nuclear power plants generate energy by splitting atoms, nuclear fusion involves smashing two atoms together.
Construction of the World’s Biggest Nuclear Fusion Plant Just Started in France|Edd Gent|August 3, 2020|Singularity Hub
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
Think sexual liberation, 1970s groups like the Gay Liberation Front, and slogans like “Smash the church/Smash the state.”
Is Caring About Climate Change an Essential Part of LGBT Identity?|Jay Michaelson|September 21, 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
The moment the bait was touched, down would come the heavy timber—smash—on the tiger's head.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
“Confound it, no;” rejoined Mr. Simmery, stopping for an instant to smash a fly with the ruler.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Towne made a fool of a girl I knowshe is married, though; it didnt smash her affections very deep; married rich, too.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater
Efter hearin' him, it fair knocked the stories on the heid aboot him bein' oot to smash the hame, an' religion an' sic like.
The Underworld|James C. Welsh
I'm sorry, drandma, 'cause I spilt the cream, and I'm awfil glad I didn't smash the bowl.
St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878|Various

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

Derived forms of smash

smashable, adjective

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

smash

OTHER WORDS FOR smash

Origin of smash

synonym study for smash

OTHER WORDS FROM smash

Words nearby smash

Words related to smash

How to use smash in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smash

Derived forms of smash

Word Origin for smash