smooth
free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough: smooth wood; a smooth road.
generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.
free from hairs or a hairy growth: a smooth cheek.
of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.
free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc.: a smooth ride.
allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow: smooth driving.
easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.
having projections worn away: a smooth tire casing.
free from hindrances or difficulties: a smooth day at the office.
noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.: Compare dead-smooth.
undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene: a smooth disposition.
elegant, easy, or polished: smooth manners.
ingratiatingly polite or suave: That salesman is a smooth talker.
free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.
not harsh to the ear, as sound: the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.
Phonetics. without aspiration.
in a smooth manner; smoothly.
to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.
to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away or out).
to free from difficulties.
to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed by away).
to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.
to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).
Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.
act of smoothing: She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.
something that is smooth; a smooth part or place: through the rough and the smooth.
smooth over, to make seem less severe, disagreeable, or irreconcilable; allay; mitigate: He smoothed over my disappointment with kind words.
Origin of smooth
1synonym study For smooth
Other words for smooth
Other words from smooth
- smooth·a·ble, adjective
- smoother, noun
- smoothly, adverb
- smoothness, noun
- o·ver·smooth, adjective
- o·ver·smooth·ly, adverb
- o·ver·smooth·ness, noun
- pre·smooth, verb (used with object)
- re·smooth, verb (used with object)
- un·smooth, adjective
- un·smooth·ly, adverb
- un·smooth·ness, noun
- un·smoothed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use smooth in a sentence
Allow this to almost dry, and then sprinkle on talcum powder which smooths over the dry varnish of ichthyol.
The Mother and Her Child | William S. SadlerPainstakingly he smooths out a little air and returns it to the astonished monarch.
Seeing Things at Night | Heywood BrounBreckenridge has taste, and generally smooths one the right way; but there are times when I feel like throwing things at him.
The Cattle-Baron's Daughter | Harold BindlossThey must remind him of the twins and little Alexander; for when he permits me to talk about them his brow smooths most speedily.
Cleopatra, Complete | Georg EbersCare smooths his rugged brow, and over the sunny face of the maiden steals a shade of deeper thought.
British Dictionary definitions for smooth
/ (smuːð) /
resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities
silky to the touch: smooth velvet
lacking roughness of surface; flat
tranquil or unruffled: smooth temper
lacking obstructions or difficulties
suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity
(in combination): smooth-tongued
(of the skin) free from hair
of uniform consistency: smooth batter
not erratic; free from jolts: smooth driving
not harsh or astringent: a smooth wine
having all projections worn away: smooth tyres
maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point
phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration
gentle to the ear; flowing
physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless
in a calm or even manner; smoothly
(also intr often foll by down) to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions
(often foll by out or away) to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth: she smoothed out the creases in her dress
to make calm; soothe
to make easier: smooth his path
electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply
obsolete to make more polished or refined
the smooth part of something
the act of smoothing
tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line: Compare rough (def. 27)
Origin of smooth
1- See also smooth over
Derived forms of smooth
- smoothable, adjective
- smoother, noun
- smoothly, adverb
- smoothness, noun
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with smooth
In addition to the idioms beginning with smooth
- smooth as silk
- smooth over
- smooth sailing
also see:
- take the rough with the smooth
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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