smooth
Americanadjective
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free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough.
smooth wood; a smooth road.
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generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.
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free from hairs or a hairy growth.
a smooth cheek.
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of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.
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free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc..
a smooth ride.
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allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow.
smooth driving.
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easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.
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having projections worn away.
a smooth tire casing.
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free from hindrances or difficulties.
a smooth day at the office.
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noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.
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undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene.
a smooth disposition.
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elegant, easy, or polished.
smooth manners.
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ingratiatingly polite or suave.
That salesman is a smooth talker.
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free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.
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not harsh to the ear, as sound.
the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.
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Phonetics. without aspiration.
adverb
verb (used with object)
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to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.
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to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away orout ).
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to free from difficulties.
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to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed byaway ).
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to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.
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to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).
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Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.
noun
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act of smoothing.
She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.
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something that is smooth; a smooth part or place.
through the rough and the smooth.
verb phrase
adjective
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resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities
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silky to the touch
smooth velvet
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lacking roughness of surface; flat
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tranquil or unruffled
smooth temper
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lacking obstructions or difficulties
-
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suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity
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( in combination )
smooth-tongued
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(of the skin) free from hair
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of uniform consistency
smooth batter
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not erratic; free from jolts
smooth driving
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not harsh or astringent
a smooth wine
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having all projections worn away
smooth tyres
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maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point
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phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration
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gentle to the ear; flowing
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physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless
adverb
verb
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to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions
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to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth
she smoothed out the creases in her dress
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to make calm; soothe
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to make easier
smooth his path
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electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply
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obsolete to make more polished or refined
noun
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the smooth part of something
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the act of smoothing
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tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line Compare rough
Synonym Usage
See level.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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oversmoothnessnoun
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smoothernoun
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smoothnessnoun
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unsmoothnessnoun
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presmoothverb (used with object)
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resmoothverb (used with object)
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oversmoothadjective
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smoothableadjective
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unsmoothadjective
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unsmoothedadjective
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oversmoothlyadverb
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smoothlyadverb
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unsmoothlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smoothsimple
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smoothssimple
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have smoothedperfect
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has smoothedperfect
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am smoothingprogressive
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are smoothingprogressive
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is smoothingprogressive
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have been smoothingperfect progressive
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has been smoothingperfect progressive
Past
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smoothedsimple
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had smoothedperfect
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was smoothingprogressive
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were smoothingprogressive
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had been smoothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smooth
First recorded before 1050; (adjective) Middle English smothe, late Old English smōth; compare Middle English smethe, Old English smēthe “smooth”; cognate with Old Saxon smōthi; (verb) late Middle English smothen, derivative of the adjective; replacing Middle English smethen, Old English smēth(i)an
Explanation
Something smooth is free of roughness, stubble, or other imperfections that you can feel with your hands. If your wooden table is giving you splinters, use a sander to smooth it down and make it smooth. As you can see, smooth works as both a verb and an adjective. Smooth has lots of interesting uses: Caught in a wind storm? Better smooth out your hair when you head inside. Got a friend who's good with the ladies? Try imitating his smooth moves. Need help to smooth out a dispute between two friends? Invite them out for coffee and offer to help them smooth out their differences. Some pianists prefer ivory keys to plastic because they're less smooth, and their fingers don't slip. The best dancers can move smoothly from one move to another.
Vocabulary lists containing smooth
Mellow Out: Synonyms for "Calm"
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Initially I was a little apprehensive but it was very smooth and much less heavy when chilled," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Once blended smooth, it becomes a blank canvas with a little backbone.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Longer-term loans underwritten by the DSRB’s prime rating could smooth out funding while cutting the risk premium arms contractors face.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
"It was a smooth surface, and almost concave. That's not how sediment normally fills in, and I kept seeing it in multiple specimens. I was like, 'Okay, there's something weird here,'" he says.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
The branch against my face was warm and smooth, and it still felt like a nothing-could-go-wrong day.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Manufacturers often add chemicals that alter the liquid's surface tension to create smoother, more uniform coatings.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Geerlings believes Rotterdam's port authority genuinely wants to change and is building the infrastructure for a smoother transition.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Russian and Western media have also speculated about cosmetic procedures as Putin’s appearance has grown visibly smoother with age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Micron should be able to give up some of its near-term revenue for better visibility into customer demand and “a smoother earnings profile,” Arcuri said.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
The computer-controlled descent was taking Eagle into an area covered with huge boulders, and Neil had to keep flying until he found a smoother spot to land.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
Blue Owl’s future will depend on whether Ostrover and Lipschultz, two of Wall Street’s smoothest salesmen, can assuage concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
But it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride.
From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025
Australia may be unbeaten but did not start this tournament in the smoothest fashion, with individual performances digging their batting line-up out of trouble in their opening matches.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025
“Not the smoothest of rides to get here,” first baseman Freddie Feeman added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
“Only the strongest, smoothest, wildest hero ever. Rides a crow the size of a Cadillac truck—no, a stretch limo! He even has his own walk-up music—they say drums play when he walks.”
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
The index is even further above its 200-day moving average, a technical signal that smooths out additional volatility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The dynamism of the singing and dancing smooths out some of the adaptation’s rough edges.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Whatever the case, the monthly average of new claims smooths out the weekly ups and downs and gives a better sense of labor-market conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 12, 2026
This smooths out optical distortions while avoiding extra noise that could be mistaken for real gravitational-wave signals.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2025
He straightens and smooths his hair back into place over his head, and his eyes lock on mine.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Ahead of the opening arguments, Rinderknecht smoothed back his hair and his lawyer helped adjust his tie, before giving him a pat on the back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
But they smoothed over the tensions during Petro's visit to the White House in February.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Implementing a "mollifier layer," which smoothed the signal before measuring it, radically diminished both the noisiness and the power consumption scaling.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026
Five-time major winner Koepka was the only player to take up the offer and smoothed his return by paying fines said to be worth about £63m.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
I smoothed the dress with my hands as I knelt over the small fire that had glowed in the Ryans’ hearth for more than a hundred years.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
During the album’s rollout, the pop star’s visage was perfected with the help of some uncanny AI smoothing, while her accompanying “Confessions II” short film featured a team of AI artists in the credits.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
It can work for some people who prefer the “pull off the Band-Aid approach,” but for most, smoothing out the tax consequences works best.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
Finds included bone pegs for stretching vellum as it dried, and tools such as knives and pumice stones for scraping and smoothing animal hides.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
By smoothing out grammar, chatbot-assisted complaints may convince decision makers that a case is more legitimate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
“Here’s something you might consider,” I said, unfolding the advertisement and smoothing down the creases.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
