smear
to spread or daub (an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance) on or over something: to smear butter on bread.
to spread or daub an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance on: to smear bread with butter.
to stain, spot, or make dirty with something oily, greasy, viscous, or wet.
to sully, vilify, or soil (a reputation, good name, etc.).
to smudge or blur, as by rubbing: The signature was smeared.
Slang. to defeat decisively; overwhelm: They smeared the home team.
an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance, especially a dab of such a substance.
a stain, spot, or mark made by such a substance.
a smudge.
something smeared or to be smeared on a thing, as a glaze for pottery.
a small quantity of something spread thinly on a slide for microscopic examination.
vilification: a smear by a cheap gossip columnist.
Origin of smear
1Other words from smear
- smearer, noun
- un·smeared, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use smear in a sentence
Six years later, she has had to monitor her health with regular pap smears and biopsies.
“In our field any discussion is better than no discussion,” Crowe says of such smears.
Internet’s Ridiculous Uproar Over Bar Bathroom Pregnancy Tests | Allison Yarrow | June 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPlus smears and baseless accusations are the fuel of modern politics.
In Susan B. Anthony List Cast, Supreme Court Votes for the Right to Lie | Sally Kohn | June 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPolitics has a tendency to devolve into juvenile playground taunts and smears.
Why Republicans Don't Get the Benefit of the Doubt on Race | Jamelle Bouie | March 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe smears against Aboushi were nearly universally condemned.
Commentary Mag Defends Bigoted Smears Against Palestinian NFL Player | Ali Gharib | July 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Stained smears show only slight variations in size, shape, and staining properties of the red cells.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddWhen considerable numbers are present, they can be detected and often identified in cover-glass smears.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddSeveral smears should be made, dried, and fixed as described under Sputum (p. 32).
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddWhen it is inconvenient to stain before the smears have dried, capsules can be shown by the method of Hiss.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThe diagnosis is certain when the bacilli are found within groups of cells which have not been disassociated in making the smears.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for smear
/ (smɪə) /
to bedaub or cover with oil, grease, etc
to rub over or apply thickly
to rub so as to produce a smudge
to slander
US slang to defeat completely
(intr) to be or become smeared or dirtied
a dirty mark or smudge
a slanderous attack
(as modifier): smear tactics
a preparation of blood, secretions, etc, smeared onto a glass slide for examination under a microscope
Origin of smear
1Derived forms of smear
- smearer, noun
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
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