| English Dictionary |
SMART
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does smart mean?
• SMART (noun)
The noun SMART has 1 sense:
1. a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore
Familiarity information: SMART used as a noun is very rare.
• SMART (adjective)
The adjective SMART has 7 senses:
1. showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
2. elegant and stylish
3. characterized by quickness and ease in learning
4. improperly forward or bold
5. painfully severe
6. quick and brisk
7. capable of independent and apparently intelligent action
Familiarity information: SMART used as an adjective is common.
• SMART (verb)
The verb SMART has 1 sense:
1. be the source of pain
Familiarity information: SMART used as a verb is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
Hypernyms ("smart" is a kind of...):
hurting; pain (a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder)
Derivation:
smart (be the source of pain)
smart (painfully severe)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: smartest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
Similar:
astute; sharp; shrewd (marked by practical hardheaded intelligence)
cagey; cagy; canny; clever (showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others)
street smart; streetwise; with-it (having the shrewd resourcefulness needed to survive in an urban environment)
Also:
intelligent (having the capacity for thought and reason especially to a high degree)
Antonym:
stupid (lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity)
Derivation:
smartness (intelligence as manifested in being quick and witty)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Elegant and stylish
Synonyms:
Context example:
a suit of voguish cut
Similar:
fashionable; stylish (having elegance or taste or refinement in manners or dress)
Derivation:
smartness (elegance by virtue of being fashionable)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Characterized by quickness and ease in learning
Synonyms:
bright; smart
Context example:
smart children talk earlier than the average
Similar:
intelligent (having the capacity for thought and reason especially to a high degree)
Derivation:
smartness (intelligence as manifested in being quick and witty)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Improperly forward or bold
Synonyms:
fresh; impertinent; impudent; overbold; sassy; saucy; smart; wise
Context example:
Don't get wise with me!
Similar:
forward (used of temperament or behavior; lacking restraint or modesty)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Painfully severe
Context example:
he gave the dog a smart blow
Similar:
intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)
Derivation:
smart; smartness (a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Quick and brisk
Context example:
we walked at a smart pace
Similar:
fast (acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly)
Derivation:
smartness (liveliness and eagerness)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Capable of independent and apparently intelligent action
Context example:
smart weapons
Similar:
automatic (operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it smarts Past simple: smarted
Past participle: smarted
-ing form: smarting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Be the source of pain
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Synonyms:
Hypernyms (to "smart" is one way to...):
cause to be perceived (have perceptible qualities)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "smart"):
bite; burn; sting (cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort)
burn (feel hot or painful)
itch (have or perceive an itch)
hunger (feel the need to eat)
thirst (feel the need to drink)
act up (make itself felt as a recurring pain)
throb (pulsate or pound with abnormal force)
shoot (cause a sharp and sudden pain in)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody's (body part) ----s
Sentence example:
Did his feet smart?
Derivation:
smart; smarting (a kind of pain such as that caused by a wound or a burn or a sore)
Context examples
Nor you neither, says you; not smart—none of the pair of us smart.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Did you ever see her? a smart, stylish girl they say, but not handsome.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
It might be a sign that you're really smart and creative.
(Daydreaming Is Good: It Means You're Smart, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
What's wrong with my face? it feels all swollen, and it smarts dreadfully.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
‘Ah, smart, smart!’ he cried, in a kind of ecstasy of delight.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Well, said Hans, if she is not really smart, I won’t have her.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
As a whole, the BBB can be viewed as a smart protective wrapping that separates the blood from the brain.
(Brain tumor invasion along blood vessels may lead to new cancer treatments, NIH)
Think yourself smart, don’t you?
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I should not wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what I am able to give him.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Yes, Sir Charles, what d’you think of them? Ain’t they damnation smart?” cried the little woman.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"When there is heart, there is pain." (Albanian proverb)
"My friends are like stars, pick one and it'll guide you." (Arabic proverb)
"Who seeds wind, shall harvest storm." (Dutch proverb)