street-smart
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of street-smart
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
Suddenly I realized the learning opportunity that had been quietly on offer in all those place names, if only I’d been street-smart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
New Zealand's "street-smart" cricketers can find a way to beat England and guarantee their semi-final place at the T20 World Cup, coach Rob Walters said on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
But when Zoë is forced by circumstance to look into the case, she reveals herself to be fearless, dogged and street-smart, as noir an investigator as Oxford is likely to get.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
Brook, like Stokes and McCullum, is street-smart - hardened by playing in Yorkshire's tough men's leagues by the age of 13 - and rough around the edges.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2025
He’s a street-smart dog, but there’s much he hasn’t seen.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
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.
