smooth
free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough: smooth wood; a smooth road.
generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.
free from hairs or a hairy growth:a smooth cheek.
of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.
free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc.: a smooth ride.
allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow: smooth driving.
easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.
having projections worn away: a smooth tire casing.
free from hindrances or difficulties: a smooth day at the office.
noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.: Compare dead-smooth.
undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene: a smooth disposition.
elegant, easy, or polished: smooth manners.
ingratiatingly polite or suave: That salesman is a smooth talker.
free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.
not harsh to the ear, as sound: the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.
Phonetics. without aspiration.
in a smooth manner; smoothly.
to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.
to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away or out).
to free from difficulties.
to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed by away).
to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.
to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).
Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.
act of smoothing: She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.
something that is smooth; a smooth part or place: through the rough and the smooth.
smooth over, to make seem less severe, disagreeable, or irreconcilable; allay; mitigate: He smoothed over my disappointment with kind words.
Origin of smooth
1synonym study For smooth
Other words for smooth
Other words from smooth
- smooth·a·ble, adjective
- smoother, noun
- smoothly, adverb
- smoothness, noun
- o·ver·smooth, adjective
- o·ver·smooth·ly, adverb
- o·ver·smooth·ness, noun
- pre·smooth, verb (used with object)
- re·smooth, verb (used with object)
- un·smooth, adjective
- un·smooth·ly, adverb
- un·smooth·ness, noun
- un·smoothed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use smooth in a sentence
It’s smooth, it’s velvety, it’s creamy, and when you bite into the beans, they’re falling apart.
How to make dal makhani, the most luxurious and creamy dal of all | Joe Yonan | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostPart of McGill’s fee will be a bottle of 147-year-old bourbon that “was so smooth that I imagined a green snake slithering across an emerald lawn” — a fitting description for the entire novel.
Best thriller and mystery books of 2020 | Maureen Corrigan, Richard Lipez | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostSurfactants in makeup and lotions make the product smoother.
Hints From Heloise: Staples to have on hand in the pantry | Heloise Heloise | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostWhile it’s been smooth sailing so far, Grand says he’s prepared if something should go wrong on one of his farming cycles.
The Morgan Stanley team doesn’t expect a smooth path upwards and noted that significant challenges remain.
Dump the dollar, stick with stocks and corporate bonds, Morgan Stanley advises heading into 2021 | Lee Clifford | November 16, 2020 | Fortune
Everything was moving ahead smoothly, and continued to for the rest of the year.
The Insurance Company Promised a Gender Reassignment. Then They Made a Mistake. | James Joiner | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEverything went smoothly, until the end of the second week: the on-board water filtration system failed.
Victor Mooney’s Epic Adventure for His Dead Brother | Justin Jones | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI feel like if we do a couple more records and things are still going smoothly, then we can talk about it.
Julian Casablancas Enters the Void: On the Strokes’ Friction, Why He Left NYC, and Starting Over | Marlow Stern | October 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd George Herbert Walker Bush for smoothly overseeing the end of the Cold War.
Will the Tapes That Destroyed Nixon Help Rehabilitate His Image? | Scott Porch | August 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe wanted to act, and he would move whatever needed moving in order to keep the process working smoothly.
Washington Is Sorely Missing the Legislative Genius of Howard Baker | James Andrew Miller | June 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe controlling leaders being out of gear the machine did not run smoothly: there was nothing but friction and tension.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonAfter the Reserve Banks have been in operation long enough to be running smoothly, not a few branches will doubtless be organized.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur PhillipsIt goes more smoothly than any engine I ever saw, and is very easy and regular in its stroke.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickEach article of dress, when taken off, should be placed carefully and smoothly in its proper place.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyIt 67 was that the piece which reads smoothly seldom acts well; whereas a play that gets over the footlights usually reads poorly.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. Morrison
British Dictionary definitions for smooth
/ (smuːð) /
resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities
silky to the touch: smooth velvet
lacking roughness of surface; flat
tranquil or unruffled: smooth temper
lacking obstructions or difficulties
suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity
(in combination): smooth-tongued
(of the skin) free from hair
of uniform consistency: smooth batter
not erratic; free from jolts: smooth driving
not harsh or astringent: a smooth wine
having all projections worn away: smooth tyres
maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point
phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration
gentle to the ear; flowing
physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless
in a calm or even manner; smoothly
(also intr often foll by down) to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions
(often foll by out or away) to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth: she smoothed out the creases in her dress
to make calm; soothe
to make easier: smooth his path
electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply
obsolete to make more polished or refined
the smooth part of something
the act of smoothing
tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line: Compare rough (def. 27)
Origin of smooth
1- See also smooth over
Derived forms of smooth
- smoothable, adjective
- smoother, noun
- smoothly, adverb
- smoothness, 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
Other Idioms and Phrases with smooth
In addition to the idioms beginning with smooth
- smooth as silk
- smooth over
- smooth sailing
also see:
- take the rough with the smooth
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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