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:
Instead, he said, lawmakers needed to be careful to “not smother American innovation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
"We need to handle this new technology like we have others in the past, and make sure we're doing everything we can responsibly to also not smother American innovation."
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
Grant used the destruction of railroads and logistical networks, and superior manpower, to smother the Confederacy during his 1864 Wilderness Campaign.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The advice is to smother your child with at least SPF 30 and four stars, about 30 minutes before you go outside.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
And there were beetles that could chew gemstones better than any jeweler could cut them, and silence trumpets that, when blown, blasted a blanket of quiet loud enough to smother thunder.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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
Then Olivier isolates Simon from his family, takes credit for his rise in the drag scene and smothers his confidence.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2024
Also if a skater — not the goaltender — smothers the puck in the goal crease.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2022
The surges of emotion are still there, the final comeuppances still rousing, even if the climax itself smothers its most electrifying twist with some predictably ostentatious visual effects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
A surge of emotion smothers my words as I realize that everything I always wished Dad was for me, Coach has been all along.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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
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
Meaning: Do you want your dish smothered in sauce made from roasted green chiles, or a simmered counterpart fashioned from dried red chile pods?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
A streetwise Scotland smothered France in defence and ran them through in attack, at one point stretching their lead to a scarcely credible 33 points.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
The faces crowded in on him out of the darkness so that he felt smothered.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
The franchise that built its identity around smothering opponents now has a new goal: breaking all of the NFL’s scoring records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
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
Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The blaze at Jatiwaringin landfill, on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, has spread across more than 15 hectares, smothering the area in thick, toxic smoke and displacing hundreds of local residents.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The young man took the locket and left, smothering his resentment.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
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.
