smooth
Americanadjective
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free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough.
smooth wood; a smooth road.
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generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.
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free from hairs or a hairy growth.
a smooth cheek.
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of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.
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free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc..
a smooth ride.
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allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow.
smooth driving.
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easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.
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having projections worn away.
a smooth tire casing.
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free from hindrances or difficulties.
a smooth day at the office.
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noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.
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undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene.
a smooth disposition.
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elegant, easy, or polished.
smooth manners.
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ingratiatingly polite or suave.
That salesman is a smooth talker.
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free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.
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not harsh to the ear, as sound.
the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.
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Phonetics. without aspiration.
adverb
verb (used with object)
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to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.
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to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away orout ).
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to free from difficulties.
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to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed byaway ).
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to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.
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to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).
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Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.
noun
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act of smoothing.
She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.
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something that is smooth; a smooth part or place.
through the rough and the smooth.
verb phrase
adjective
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resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities
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silky to the touch
smooth velvet
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lacking roughness of surface; flat
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tranquil or unruffled
smooth temper
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lacking obstructions or difficulties
-
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suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity
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( in combination )
smooth-tongued
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(of the skin) free from hair
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of uniform consistency
smooth batter
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not erratic; free from jolts
smooth driving
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not harsh or astringent
a smooth wine
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having all projections worn away
smooth tyres
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maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point
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phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration
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gentle to the ear; flowing
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physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless
adverb
verb
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to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions
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to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth
she smoothed out the creases in her dress
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to make calm; soothe
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to make easier
smooth his path
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electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply
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obsolete to make more polished or refined
noun
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the smooth part of something
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the act of smoothing
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tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line Compare rough
Synonym Usage
See level.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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oversmoothnessnoun
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smoothernoun
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smoothnessnoun
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unsmoothnessnoun
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presmoothverb (used with object)
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resmoothverb (used with object)
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oversmoothadjective
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smoothableadjective
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unsmoothadjective
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unsmoothedadjective
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oversmoothlyadverb
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smoothlyadverb
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unsmoothlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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smoothsimple
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smoothssimple
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have smoothedperfect
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has smoothedperfect
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am smoothingprogressive
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are smoothingprogressive
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is smoothingprogressive
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have been smoothingperfect progressive
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has been smoothingperfect progressive
Past
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smoothedsimple
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had smoothedperfect
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was smoothingprogressive
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were smoothingprogressive
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had been smoothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smooth
First recorded before 1050; (adjective) Middle English smothe, late Old English smōth; compare Middle English smethe, Old English smēthe “smooth”; cognate with Old Saxon smōthi; (verb) late Middle English smothen, derivative of the adjective; replacing Middle English smethen, Old English smēth(i)an
Explanation
Something smooth is free of roughness, stubble, or other imperfections that you can feel with your hands. If your wooden table is giving you splinters, use a sander to smooth it down and make it smooth. As you can see, smooth works as both a verb and an adjective. Smooth has lots of interesting uses: Caught in a wind storm? Better smooth out your hair when you head inside. Got a friend who's good with the ladies? Try imitating his smooth moves. Need help to smooth out a dispute between two friends? Invite them out for coffee and offer to help them smooth out their differences. Some pianists prefer ivory keys to plastic because they're less smooth, and their fingers don't slip. The best dancers can move smoothly from one move to another.
Vocabulary lists containing smooth
Mellow Out: Synonyms for "Calm"
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
But they have helped to smooth over ties with the European Union, frayed by Orban's closeness to the Kremlin.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Four dancers were integrated with the singers in a smooth, physically expressionistic style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The setup is the shot, and the punchline is the chaser, and they both go down smooth.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
"Initially I was a little apprehensive but it was very smooth and much less heavy when chilled," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
His chin was smooth as a baby’s bottom.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Manufacturers often add chemicals that alter the liquid's surface tension to create smoother, more uniform coatings.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
To prevent wild price swings and ensure a smoother launch, a greenshoe agreement lets the banks handling the listing sell more shares than originally planned.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
It has been a big player in PCs for decades through its graphics chips, which produce sharper and smoother images on computer monitors—a capability videogamers prize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Micron should be able to give up some of its near-term revenue for better visibility into customer demand and “a smoother earnings profile,” Arcuri said.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
Snapping drums, a flexing of sound, and a high threading of guitar over a smoother cadence and then the man sang.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Glass scientists who worked on developing the smoothest and lightest smartphone displays are now also spending time on specialized glass for packaging advanced AI processing chips, according to industry executives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
Your Party has not got off to the smoothest of starts.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
But it hasn’t always been the smoothest ride.
From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025
“Not the smoothest of rides to get here,” first baseman Freddie Feeman added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
On the footpath that led past the warren, bright threads of light—watery, a mirage—trickled and glittered across the shortest, smoothest grass.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
The index is even further above its 200-day moving average, a technical signal that smooths out additional volatility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The dynamism of the singing and dancing smooths out some of the adaptation’s rough edges.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Whatever the case, the monthly average of new claims smooths out the weekly ups and downs and gives a better sense of labor-market conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 12, 2026
This smooths out optical distortions while avoiding extra noise that could be mistaken for real gravitational-wave signals.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2025
Papi smooths his curly hair with his hands and tries not to raise his voice.
From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar
Ahead of the opening arguments, Rinderknecht smoothed back his hair and his lawyer helped adjust his tie, before giving him a pat on the back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
The report may have smoothed over some frayed nerves about artificial intelligence coming for jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
But they smoothed over the tensions during Petro's visit to the White House in February.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Implementing a "mollifier layer," which smoothed the signal before measuring it, radically diminished both the noisiness and the power consumption scaling.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026
Dad smoothed his hair down and grinned and said, “No, no, it’s good you called. Here’s what we should do.”
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
It can work for some people who prefer the “pull off the Band-Aid approach,” but for most, smoothing out the tax consequences works best.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
The visit was officially meant to celebrate transatlantic ties as the United States marks its 250th anniversary of independence from Britain, but much of Charles's time has been spent smoothing over tensions over Iran.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
Arguably, the scarcity business model comes with its own economic hedge: Wait lists expand during economic booms and are depleted in leaner times, smoothing out sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
Research analysing around 100,000 lies suggests about 20% are about managing social engagements - getting out of plans or smoothing over awkward interactions in relationships.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
He was smoothing the note on his palm, when a young very dark-skinned customs officer asked, “Anything to declare, sir?”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
