smut

[smuht]

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noun

a particle of soot; sooty matter.

a black or dirty mark; smudge.

indecent language or publications; obscenity.

Plant Pathology.

a disease of plants, especially cereal grasses, characterized by the conversion of affected parts into black, powdery masses of spores, caused by fungi of the order Ustilaginales.
a fungus causing this disease.

verb (used with object), smut·ted, smut·ting.

to soil or smudge.

verb (used without object), smut·ted, smut·ting.

to become affected with smut, as a plant.

Origin of smut

1580–90; akin to earlier smit (Old English smitte), by association with smudge, smutch

Related formsan·ti·smut, adjectiveun·smut·ted, adjective

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

Related Words for smut

obscenity, erotica, filth, indecency, dirt, bawdiness, porn, porno, sexploitation

Examples from the Web for smut

Historical Examples of smut

That had been the last of Smut's days of prowess had I not fortunately had a spear.
The Rifle and The Hound in Ceylon
Samuel White Baker
Smut and Bran had him by the ears, and a thrust with the knife finished him.
The Rifle and The Hound in Ceylon
Samuel White Baker
It was known in unofficial circles as Smut One and attendance was compulsory.
The Boy Grew Older
Heywood Broun
To the men he was Smut, and no one ever thought of calling him anything else.
The Story of Baden-Powell
Harold Begbie
The shining surface reflected the Smut, and he seemed to himself to be two.
Miscellanea
Juliana Horatia Ewing

British Dictionary definitions for smut

smut

noun

a small dark smudge or stain, esp one caused by soot

a speck of soot or dirt

something obscene or indecent

any of various fungal diseases of flowering plants, esp cereals, in which black sooty masses of spores cover the affected parts
any parasitic basidiomycetous fungus of the order Ustilaginales that causes such a disease

angling a minute midge or other insect relished by trout

verb smuts, smutting or smutted

to mark or become marked or smudged, as with soot

to affect (grain) or (of grain) to be affected with smut

(tr) to remove smut from (grain)

(tr) to make obscene

(intr) to emit soot or smut

(intr) angling (of trout) to feed voraciously on smuts

Derived Formssmutty, adjectivesmuttily, adverbsmuttiness, noun

Word Origin for smut

Old English smitte; related to Middle High German smitze; associated with smudge, smutch

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 smut

1660s, "black mark, stain," from verb smutten "debase, defile" (late 14c.), later "stain or mark with soot, etc." (1580s), cognate with Middle High German smotzen "make dirty," from West Germanic *smutt- (cf. Middle High German smuz "grease, dirt;" German Schmutz "dirt," schmutzen "to make dirty"). The meaning "indecent or obscene language" is first attested 1660s.

smut in Science

smut

[smŭt]

Any of various bacidiomycete fungi that are parasitic on plants and are distinguished by the black, powdery masses of spores that appear as sooty smudges on the affected plant parts. Smuts are parasitic chiefly on cereal grasses like corn and wheat and can cause enormous damage to crops.

Any of the various plant diseases caused by smuts, such as corn smut.