smart

UK/smɑːt//smɑɹt/

smart verb: to hurt or sting. Also the clipping of smart money.

Verb

smart (third-person singular simple present smarts, present participle smarting, simple past smarted or (obsolete) smort, past participle smarted or (obsolete) smort or (obsolete) smorten)

(intransitive) To hurt or sting.
- After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts!"
- He moved convulsively, and as he did so, said, "I'll be quiet, Doctor. Tell them to take off the strait waistcoat. I have had a terrible dream, and it has left me so weak that I cannot move. What's wrong with my face? It feels all swollen, and it smarts dreadfully."1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC
(transitive) To cause a smart or sting in.
- A goad that […] smarts the flesh.a. 1652, Thomas Adams, Faith’s Encouragement
(intransitive) To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to be punished severely; to feel the sting of evil.
- You think this cruel? take it for a rule, / No creature ſmarts ſo little as a Fool.1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 5, lines 81–82
- He that is ſurety for a ſtranger ſhall ſmart for it.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:15

Adjective (1)

smart (comparative smarter, superlative smartest)

Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
- I always preferred the church, and I still do. But that was not smart enough for my family. They recommended the army. That was a great deal too smart for me.1811, [Jane Austen], chapter 19, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
Synonyms:

bright, capable, sophisticated, witty, astute, brainy, brilliant, clever, educated, genius

Antonyms:

backward, banal, boorish, dull, inept
(informal) Exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.

Synonyms:

cultivated, educated, learned, academical, clueful, erudite, in the know, knowledgeable, knowledgeful, knowsome

Antonyms:

ignorant, uncultivated, simple
(in-compounds, often) Equipped with intelligent behaviour (digital/computer technology).
- smart car
- smartcard
Antonyms:

dumb
Good-looking; well dressed; fine; fashionable.
- a smart outfit
- You look smart in that business suit.
Synonyms:

attractive, chic, dapper, stylish, handsome

Antonyms:

garish, outré, tacky
Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.
- He became tired of his girlfriend's smart remarks.
- Don't get smart with me!
Synonyms:

silly
Sudden and intense.
- smart skirmishes, in which many fell1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed...
- There is a smart shower at 5 P.M., and in the midst of it a hummingbird is busy about the flowers in the garden, unmindful of it, though you would think that each big drop that struck him would be a serious accident.1860 July 9, Henry David Thoreau, journal entry, from Thoreau's bird-lore, Francis H. Allen (editor), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, 1910), Thoreau on Birds: notes on New England birds from the Journals...
Causing sharp pain; stinging.
- How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
Sharp; keen; poignant.
- a smart pain
(Southern US, dated) Intense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right.
- He raised his voice; it hurt her feelings right smart.
- That cast on his leg chaffs him right smart.
(archaic) Efficient; vigorous; brilliant.
- The stars shine smarter.1697, Virgil, “Georgic 1”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
(archaic) Pretentious; showy; spruce.
- a smart gown
(archaic) Brisk; fresh.
- a smart breeze
(Appalachia) Hard-working.

Noun (1)

smart (plural smarts)

A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
- […] the bodie had no smart / Of any wound: it was the minde that felt the cruell stings.1567, Ovid, “(please specify the book number or chapter)”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC
- If chance some Shepherd with a distant Dart / The Savage wound, he rowzes at the Smart, / He foams, he roars […]1715–1720, Homer, “Book 5”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 25, lines...
Synonyms:

pang, throe, misery, pain, wark
Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
- Mishaps are maistred by aduice discrete, / And counsell mitigates the greatest smart; / Found neuer help, who neuer would his hurts impart.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 101
- But oh why didst thou not stay here below / To bless us with thy heav’n lov’d innocence, […] / To stand ’twixt us and our deserved smart / But thou canst best perform that office where thou art.1624 (date written), John Milton, “On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […], published 1673, →OCLC, page 20
Synonyms:

anguish, torment, rend, difficulty, distress, grief, hardship, pain, torture, trouble
(dated, slang) A dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.
- […] I reſolved to quit all further Converſation vvith Beaus and Smarts of all kinds, […]1742, Henry Fielding, “In which the Gentleman Relates the History of His Life”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume II, London: […]...
Synonyms:

fop, macaroni, barbermonger, beau, blade, blood, buck, carpet knight, cockscomb, dandy
A fan of professional wrestling who is aware of kayfabe and the scripted nature of the competition.
- wwe's attitude toward hardcore fans is a far cry from what it was during the Monday night wars. Back then, wcw would agonize over its decisions in an attempt to outsmart the “smarts.”2005 June 29, "Sir" Adam Kleinberg, Adam Nudelman, Mysteries of Wrestling: Solved, ECW Press, →ISBN, page 138
Antonyms:

mark

Proper noun (1) capitalized: SMART

SMART

(abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers.

Noun (2) capitalized: SMART

SMART (uncountable)

(abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology: a monitoring system included in computer HDDs and SSDs in order to detect and report various indicators of drive reliability with the intent of anticipating imminent hardware failures.

Adjective (2) capitalized: SMART

SMART (not comparable)

(mnemonic) An acronym for remembering desirable characteristics for goal-setting: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timebound. (See SMART criteria on Wikipedia.Wikipedia)
- Over time, I noticed various exercises I did with Woebot rubbing off in my daily life. Woebot taught me how to set SMART goals — specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.2022 September 27, Barclay Bram, “My Therapist, the Robot”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2022
Antonyms:

VAPID

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Smart

Smart

A surname.

Also used as

smart is also the clipping of smart money.

smart meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

smart in Hindi

exhibiting social ability or cleverness: चालाक cālāk, चतुर catur, होशियार hośiyār
exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books: बुद्धिमान buddhimān, चतुर catur, होशियार hośiyār

smart in Tamil

exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books: நுண்ணறி nuṇṇaṟi

smart in Marathi

exhibiting social ability or cleverness: हुशार huśār

smart in Urdu

exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books: ہوشیار hośiyār

More languagesFewer languages

smart in Bengali: চতুর cotur
smart in Malayalam: സ്മാർട്ട്, സ്മാർട്ടായി, സ്മാർട്ട് ആയി
smart in Sanskrit: चतुर catura
smart in Assamese: তীখৰ tikhor
smart in Arabic: شَاطِر šāṭir, ذَكِيّ ḏakiyy
smart in Malay: pintar
smart in Indonesian: cerdas, pintar, elegan, elok
smart in Persian: هوشمند hušmand
smart in Thai: ฉลาด chà-làat
smart in Vietnamese: thông minh, thông tuệ, lanh lợi, giỏi
smart in Myanmar: နပ် nap, လျင် lyang

Examples of smart in a sentence

They were sooty and smarting as she used them to pry the garment off the woman's slack shoulders, and threw it over her own.2023 October 12, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 22 May 2024:
Meanvvhile the Abate exulted in ſucceſsful vengeance, and the marquis ſmarted beneath the ſtings of diſappointment.1790, [Ann Radcliffe], chapter XI, in A Sicilian Romance. […], volume II, London: […] T[homas] Hookham, […], →OCLC, page 85:
“I’m a smart toaster, and I’m collecting data on how many times the toaster is used.”2018 December 18, Joe Pinsker, “The Coming Commodification of Life at Home”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2019:
Who, for the poor renown of being smart / Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?1728, Edward Young, Satire:

All 40 example sentences with smart

Synonyms of smart

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

5 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of smart

Forms of smart

Verb
third-person singular present	smarts
present participle	smarting
past	smarted
past participle	smarted
past (obsolete)	smort
past participle (obsolete)	smort
past participle (obsolete)	smorten
Adjective
comparative	smarter
superlative	smartest
Noun
plural	smarts

Past tense of smart: smarted

Plural of smart: smarts

Origin of smart

From Middle English smerten, from Old English *smeortan (“to smart”), from Proto-West Germanic *smertan, from Proto-Germanic *smertaną (“to hurt, ache”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert, Dutch smarten, German schmerzen, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta.

From Middle English smert, smart, from Old English smeart (“smarting, smart, painful”), from Proto-West Germanic *smart, from Proto-Germanic *smartaz (“hurting, aching”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert (“painful, smart”), Old Frisian smert (“sharp, painful”).

From Middle English smerte, from smerten (“to smart”); see above. Cognate with Scots smert, Dutch smart, Low German smart, German Schmerz, Danish smerte, Swedish smärta. More above.

Words formed from smart

Words that rhyme with smart

32 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about smart

What does smart mean?: Smart means to hurt or sting.
What is smart in Hindi?: Smart in Hindi is चालाक (cālāk), चतुर (catur), होशियार (hośiyār). See Smart meaning in Hindi.
How do you use smart in a sentence?: They were sooty and smarting as she used them to pry the garment off the woman's slack shoulders, and threw it over her own.
What part of speech is smart?: Smart can be a verb, an adjective, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce smart?: Smart is pronounced /smɑɹt/ (US).
What is the past tense of smart?: The past tense of smart is smarted.

Words near smart in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: smart (page history and authors); SMART (page history and authors); Smart (page history and authors); smart (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-smart.ogg.

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