schmear
/ʃmɪə(ɹ)/
schmear noun: a spread that goes on a bagel.
Noun
schmear (plural schmears)
Verb
schmear (third-person singular simple present schmears, present participle schmearing, simple past and past participle schmeared)
- To spread something, often a bagel spread.
- To bribe.
- "What happened?"
"Nothing."
"How could nothing happen if you're not with her? Listen, did you grease that d.j.?"
"No."
"You didn't schmear him? You think the world owes you a living?"1969, Morris Renek, Siam Miami, page 131 - […] I slipped the guy a hundred dollars."
"You had to schmear him to sell you a patch?"2003, Lawrence Block, Small Town, page 638
- "What happened?"
Forms of schmear
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | schmears |
| alternative form | shmear |
| alternative form | schmeer |
| alternative form | shmeer |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | schmears |
| present participle | schmearing |
| past participle | schmeared |
| past | schmeared |
Origin of schmear
Borrowed from Yiddish שמיר (shmir, “smear, spread”); compare German schmieren. Doublet of smear, smearcase. By surface analysis, schm- + smear. The sense “bribe” is from Yiddish שמירן (shmirn, “to smear, to bribe”), senses found also in German schmieren. The implication is that a bribe helps “lubricate” an interaction.
Words that rhyme with schmear
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- spear
- career
- fear
- here
- steer
- appear
- cavalier
- cheer
- leer
- pioneer
- queer
- volunteer
- adhere
- beer
- chandelier
- deer
- financier
- pier
- premier
- privateer
- sheer
- veer
- vizier
- austere
- bombardier
- brigadier
- cashmere
- commandeer
- disappear
- endear
- grenadier
- interfere
- mere
- mountaineer
- peer
- sear
- tear
- tier
- unclear
- arrear
- bier
- blear
- cameleer
- cashier
- chiffonier
- cohere
- fakir
- farseer
Questions about schmear
- What does schmear mean?
- Schmear means a spread that goes on a bagel.
- What part of speech is schmear?
- Schmear can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce schmear?
- Schmear is pronounced /ʃmɪə(ɹ)/.
- What is the plural of schmear?
- The plural of schmear is schmears.
Words near schmear in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: schmear (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:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-schmear.wav.
Cite this entry: “schmear.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/schmear. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.