smart
verb (used without object)
to be a source of sharp, local, and usually superficial pain, as a wound.
were smarting
-
past progressiveof smart.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Croatia were smarting from Thursday's shock home defeat by Turkey and depleted by injuries to the likes of Ivan Perisic, Bruno Petkovic and Andre Kramaric.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2023
But when they boarded the plane back to Washington, the Wizards were smarting over a sloppy performance in Denver that resulted in a 105-102 loss to the depleted Nuggets.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2014
Chanel’s owners, the Wertheimer brothers, were smarting from losing out on the purchase of first growth Chateau Latour to billionaire Francois Pinault when they settled on restoring Rauzan-Segla back to its glory days.
From BusinessWeek ● Feb. 6, 2012
Ooh, because they were smarting, their noses were bleeding from last year.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 2, 2010
I could not quite believe what had happened, even though my hands were smarting and bleeding.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
