smother
Americanverb (used with object)
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smothers,
present (3rd person singular)
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smothered,
past participle, past
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smothering
present participle
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to stifle or suffocate, as by smoke or other means of preventing free breathing.
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to extinguish or deaden (fire, coals, etc.) by covering so as to exclude air.
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to cover closely or thickly; envelop.
to smother a steak with mushrooms.
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to suppress or repress.
to smother feelings.
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Cooking. to steam (food) slowly in a heavy, tightly closed vessel with a minimum of liquid.
smothered chicken and onions.
verb (used without object)
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smothers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
smothered,
past participle, past
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smothering
present participle
-
to become stifled or suffocated; be prevented from breathing.
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to be stifled; be suppressed or concealed.
noun
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dense, stifling smoke.
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a smoking or smoldering state, as of burning matter.
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dust, fog, spray, etc., in a dense or enveloping cloud.
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an overspreading profusion of anything.
a smother of papers.
verb
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to suffocate or stifle by cutting off or being cut off from the air
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(tr) to surround (with) or envelop (in)
he smothered her with love
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(tr) to extinguish (a fire) by covering so as to cut it off from the air
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to be or cause to be suppressed or stifled
smother a giggle
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(tr) to cook or serve (food) thickly covered with sauce, etc
noun
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anything, such as a cloud of smoke, that stifles
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a profusion or turmoil
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archaic a state of smouldering or a smouldering fire
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-smotheredadjective
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smotherableadjective
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smotheryadjective
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unsmotherableadjective
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unsmotheredadjective
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unsmotheringadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smothersimple
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smotherssimple
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have smotheredperfect
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has smotheredperfect
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am smotheringprogressive
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are smotheringprogressive
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is smotheringprogressive
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have been smotheringperfect progressive
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has been smotheringperfect progressive
Past
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smotheredsimple
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had smotheredperfect
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was smotheringprogressive
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were smotheringprogressive
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had been smotheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smother
1125–75; (noun) Middle English smorther dense smoke; akin to Old English smorian to suffocate; (v.) Middle English smo ( r ) theren, derivative of the noun
Explanation
To smother is to overwhelm or suffocate. If you've ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend who calls you twenty five times an hour to check up on you, then you know what it means to be smothered by someone. The word smother literally means to deprive of oxygen, so it can be used to refer to someone who gets suffocated by a pillow. In everyday conversation, the word is often used to refer to the act of making someone feel like they’re being deprived of oxygen or personal space. If you have a mother who likes to smother you by asking where you're going every time you see her, then it's likely you’re already dreaming of moving out!
Vocabulary lists containing smother
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 16–19
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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:
Spain’s formidable defense helped it smother a France team that looked invincible before wilting during a 2-0 World Cup semifinal loss Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
He said it took him five minutes to smother the flames with a fire blanket before he noticed his whole house was becoming enveloped in smoke.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
We’ve been able to ruthlessly and mostly successfully smother the group from threatening the U.S. mainland and American interests abroad.
From Slate ● Apr. 21, 2026
Thick layers of dust smother giant grinding and pressing machines, while only a tiny crew of workers transfer the last batch made three weeks ago off snaking assembly lines and into trucks.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
He felt that black shapes were advancing to smother him; but when he sat up he saw nothing but the back of Strider sitting hunched up, smoking his pipe, and watching.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
But as much as she smothers her desires, others can sense them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
L.A.’s heat-seeking “Showtime” franchise is obsessed over more than any other, in good times and especially troubled ones, to the point where it smothers other NBA coverage and drives many fans nuts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2025
Also if a skater — not the goaltender — smothers the puck in the goal crease.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2022
But some asteroids occupy corners of the sky in which the sun’s glare smothers them, and, like embers flitting in front of a thermonuclear bonfire, they fade from view.
From New York Times ● Oct. 31, 2022
The sun had almost set and left the sky swathed in smothers of purple and red.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Workers sweated in choking heat and pupils stayed home on Tuesday as an early-summer heatwave smothered much of Europe, sparking health warnings.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
McTominay hit the side-netting, Dykes headed over, McTominay had a shot smothered.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
He has added gold trim to the crown molding, smothered the walls with gold-framed artworks and gold-painted embellishments, placed inch-thick gold coasters on the desk, and lined up gold urns on the mantel.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
An assertion is not worth making unless it is smothered in phrases like “it is worth noting,” “importantly,” or “generally speaking.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
It was as though she were being smothered by dread of the terrible promise of what the new day would bring.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Some species may have acted as fire ladders, helping flames move through the landscape while also crowding out and smothering other vegetation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
A massive front of hot air from North Africa was smothering western Europe, Sebastien Leas, a forecaster at France's weather service Meteo-France, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
"The soil itself absorbs heat. At the same time, it serves as a smothering method, removing the oxygen from the subsurface fire."
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Minnesota's smothering defence was again enough to win the game though, with Brian Flores' unit starring in their four-game winning streak to end the season in positive fashion.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
He walked to Collins, twisting his face away from the heat of the fire and smothering smoke.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
