Word.ws English Dictionary

schm-

/ʃm-/

schm- prefix: used to form a reduplicated rhyming compound of any word in order to express disparagement, dismissal, or derision.

Prefix

schm-

  1. (US) Used to form a reduplicated rhyming compound of any word in order to express disparagement, dismissal, or derision.
    • Rain, schmain, we've got a game to play.
    • Gather 'round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun / A man whose allegiance / Is ruled by expedience / Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown / "Nazi, Schmazi!" says Wernher von Braun1965, Tom Lehrer, “Werner von Braun”, in That Was The Week That Was
  2. Used to form an intensified word, typically with words starting with m especially for comedic effect.
    • Issa big schmood.
    • Look at my big schmeat.

Forms of schm-

alternative formshm-
alternative formsm-

Origin of schm-

Borrowed from Yiddish שמ־ (shm-), imitative of many Yiddish words such as schmaltz or schmuck.

Questions about schm-

What does schm- mean?
Schm- means used to form a reduplicated rhyming compound of any word in order to express disparagement, dismissal, or derision.
What part of speech is schm-?
Schm- is a prefix.
How do you pronounce schm-?
Schm- is pronounced /ʃm-/.

Words near schm- in the dictionary

  1. Schläfli double sixes
  2. Schläfli notation
  3. Schläfli notations
  4. Schläfli symbol
  5. Schläfli symbols
  6. schm-
  7. Schmahl
  8. Schmahls
  9. Schmahmann's syndrome
  10. Schmaker
  11. Schmale

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: schm- (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “schm-.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/schm-. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.