smudge

[smuhj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smudge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a dirty mark or smear.

a smeary state.

a stifling smoke.

a smoky fire, especially one made for driving away mosquitoes or safeguarding fruit trees from frost.

verb (used with object), smudged, smudg·ing.

to mark with dirty streaks or smears.

to fill with smudge, as to drive away insects or protect fruit trees from frost.

verb (used without object), smudged, smudg·ing.

to form a smudge on something.

to become smudged: White shoes smudge easily.

to smolder or smoke; emit smoke, as a smudge pot.

Nearby words

Origin of smudge

1400–50; late Middle English smogen (v.) < ?

Related formssmudg·ed·ly, adverbsmudge·less, adjectiveun·smudged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for smudge

What happened with Broadwell will be seen as a smudge on his record.
Like Jill Kelley, Paula Broadwell Eyes Comeback After Petraeus Scandal|Howard Kurtz|January 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Reuben left the cottage with the green shutters before the sun had entered the smudge of horizon clouds.
Wilderness of Spring|Edgar Pangborn
One morning, at the beginning of his fourth month of solitude, the mucker saw a smudge of smoke upon the horizon.
The Mucker|Edgar Rice Burroughs
Old Smudge alone remained, at the moment of which I have spoken.
Afloat And Ashore|James Fenimore Cooper

Then, off in the east, a smudge of dust resolved itself into a team and wagon.
Bruce of the Circle A|Harold Titus
"Come to council," I sent up, while they helped to keep the smudge thick.
Pluck on the Long Trail|Edwin L. Sabin

British Dictionary definitions for smudge

smudge

verb

to smear, blur, or soil or cause to do so

(tr) mainly US and Canadian to fill (an area) with smoke in order to drive insects away or guard against frost

noun

a smear or dirty mark

a blurred form or areathat smudge in the distance is a quarry

mainly US and Canadian a smoky fire for driving insects away or protecting fruit trees or plants from frost

Derived Formssmudgeless, adjectivesmudgily or smudgedly, adverb

Word Origin for smudge

C15: of uncertain origin

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

Word Origin and History for smudge

smudge

early 15c., smogen "to soil, stain, blacken," of obscure origin. Related: Smudged; smudging. Meaning "make a smoky fire" is from 1860, hence smudge-pot (1903). The noun meaning "a stain, spot, smear" is first attested 1768, from the verb.

smudge

noun

verb (used with object), smudged, smudg·ing.

verb (used without object), smudged, smudg·ing.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of smudge

Examples from the Web for smudge

smudge

verb

noun

Word Origin for smudge

smudge