Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
1.
to spread or daub (an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance) on or over something: to smear butter on bread.
2.
to spread or daub an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance on: to smear bread with butter.
3.
to stain, spot, or make dirty with something oily, greasy, viscous, or wet.
4.
to sully, vilify, or soil (a reputation, good name, etc.).
5.
EXPANDto smudge or blur, as by rubbing: The signature was smeared.
6.
COLLAPSESlang. to defeat decisively; overwhelm: They smeared the home team.
noun
7.
an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance, especially a dab of such a substance.
8.
a stain, spot, or mark made by such a substance.
9.
a smudge.
10.
something smeared or to be smeared on a thing, as a glaze for pottery.
11.
EXPANDa small quantity of something spread thinly on a slide for microscopic examination.
12.
COLLAPSEvilification: a smear by a cheap gossip columnist.
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Smearing
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
Origin:
before 900; (v.) Middle English smeren, smirien to rub with fat, anoint, Old English smirian, smerian, smerwan; cognate with Dutch smeren, German schmieren, Old Norse smyrja, smyrwa; (noun) in current senses derivative of the v.; compare obsolete smear fat, grease, ointment, Middle English smere, Old English smeoru, cognate with Dutch smear, German Schmer, Old Norse smjǫr grease, Greek smýris rubbing powder; see emery
before 900; (v.) Middle English smeren, smirien to rub with fat, anoint, Old English smirian, smerian, smerwan; cognate with Dutch smeren, German schmieren, Old Norse smyrja, smyrwa; (noun) in current senses derivative of the v.; compare obsolete smear fat, grease, ointment, Middle English smere, Old English smeoru, cognate with Dutch smear, German Schmer, Old Norse smjǫr grease, Greek smýris rubbing powder; see emery
Related forms
smear·er, noun
un·smeared, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To Smearing
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
smear
O.E. smerian "to anoint or rub with grease, oil, etc.," from P.Gmc. *smerthan (cf. O.N. smyrva, Dan. smøre, Swed. smörja, Du. smeren, O.H.G. smirwen, Ger. schmieren "to smear"), from PIE *smeru- "grease" (cf. Gk. myron "unguent, balsam," O.Ir. smi(u)r "marrow," O.E. smeoru "fat, grease").
EXPANDSense of "assault a public reputation with unsubstantiated charges" is from 1879. Noun meaning "mark or stain left by smearing" is first recorded 1611; sense of "small quantity prepared for microscopic examination" is from 1903.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
smear (smēr)
n.
A sample, as of blood or bacterial cells, spread thinly on a slide and usually stained for microscopic examination or applied to the surface of a culture medium.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary
smear definition
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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