smooth

[ smooth ]
See synonyms for: smoothsmoothersmoothestsmoothing on Thesaurus.com

adjective,smooth·er, smooth·est.
  1. free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough: smooth wood; a smooth road.

  2. generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.

  1. free from hairs or a hairy growth: a smooth cheek.

  2. of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.

  3. free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc.: a smooth ride.

  4. allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow: smooth driving.

  5. easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.

  6. having projections worn away: a smooth tire casing.

  7. free from hindrances or difficulties: a smooth day at the office.

  8. noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.: Compare dead-smooth.

  9. undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene: a smooth disposition.

  10. elegant, easy, or polished: smooth manners.

  11. ingratiatingly polite or suave: That salesman is a smooth talker.

  12. free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.

  13. not harsh to the ear, as sound: the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.

  14. Phonetics. without aspiration.

adverb
  1. in a smooth manner; smoothly.

verb (used with object)
  1. to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.

  2. to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away or out).

  1. to free from difficulties.

  2. to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed by away).

  3. to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.

  4. to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).

  5. Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.

noun
  1. act of smoothing: She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.

  2. something that is smooth; a smooth part or place: through the rough and the smooth.

Verb Phrases
  1. smooth over, to make seem less severe, disagreeable, or irreconcilable; allay; mitigate: He smoothed over my disappointment with kind words.

Origin of smooth

1
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

synonym study For smooth

1. See level.

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

Words Nearby smooth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use smooth in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smooth

smooth

/ (smuːð) /


adjective
  1. resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities

  2. silky to the touch: smooth velvet

  1. lacking roughness of surface; flat

  2. tranquil or unruffled: smooth temper

  3. lacking obstructions or difficulties

    • suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity

    • (in combination): smooth-tongued

  4. (of the skin) free from hair

  5. of uniform consistency: smooth batter

  6. not erratic; free from jolts: smooth driving

  7. not harsh or astringent: a smooth wine

  8. having all projections worn away: smooth tyres

  9. maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point

  10. phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration

  11. gentle to the ear; flowing

  12. physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless

adverb
  1. in a calm or even manner; smoothly

verb(mainly tr)
  1. (also intr often foll by down) to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions

  2. (often foll by out or away) to take or rub (away) in order to make smooth: she smoothed out the creases in her dress

  1. to make calm; soothe

  2. to make easier: smooth his path

  3. electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply

  4. obsolete to make more polished or refined

noun
  1. the smooth part of something

  2. the act of smoothing

  1. 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
Old English smōth; related to Old Saxon māthmundi gentle-minded, smōthi smooth

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

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.