smother
to stifle or suffocate, as by smoke or other means of preventing free breathing.
to extinguish or deaden (fire, coals, etc.) by covering so as to exclude air.
to cover closely or thickly; envelop: to smother a steak with mushrooms.
to suppress or repress: to smother feelings.
Cooking. to steam (food) slowly in a heavy, tightly closed vessel with a minimum of liquid: smothered chicken and onions.
to become stifled or suffocated; be prevented from breathing.
to be stifled; be suppressed or concealed.
dense, stifling smoke.
a smoking or smoldering state, as of burning matter.
dust, fog, spray, etc., in a dense or enveloping cloud.
an overspreading profusion of anything: a smother of papers.
Origin of smother
1Other words from smother
- smoth·er·a·ble, adjective
- half-smothered, adjective
- un·smoth·er·a·ble, adjective
- un·smoth·ered, adjective
- un·smoth·er·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use smother in a sentence
Then we have to suffer through the Chief smothering him with a pillow.
Another top contender in the Oscar race is Barbara Hershey, as the smothering mother of fragile Natalie Portman in Black Swan.
Face Sitting Yes, Virginia, there are those who desire a big juicy ass smothering their air intake.
We see corruption smothering entrepreneurship and good governance.
“Etouffée” means smothered, which is how this dish should be served: smothering the rice underneath it.
At last the lad, only half smothering a heavy sigh, buried his face in his hands and remained in this attitude several moments.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne SueMars collapsed to the ground, smothering small fires beneath his bulk.
Pagan Passions | Gordon Randall GarrettHe slept in the woods, freezing by the lonely campfire, or sweltering in the smothering heat of the summer sun.
The Phantom of the River | Edward S. EllisSmothering hydrophobic patients is still spoken of in Somerset as so practised.
His eyes closed, and the man who was smothering him with his weight arose to defend himself against an unexpected attack.
The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar | Maurice Leblanc
British Dictionary definitions for smother
/ (ˈsmʌðə) /
to suffocate or stifle by cutting off or being cut off from the air
(tr) to surround (with) or envelop (in): he smothered her with love
(tr) to extinguish (a fire) by covering so as to cut it off from the air
to be or cause to be suppressed or stifled: smother a giggle
(tr) to cook or serve (food) thickly covered with sauce, etc
anything, such as a cloud of smoke, that stifles
a profusion or turmoil
archaic a state of smouldering or a smouldering fire
Origin of smother
1Derived forms of smother
- smothery, adjective
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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