Word.ws English Dictionary

smooth

/smuːð/

smooth adjective: having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.

Adjective

smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)

  1. Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
    • The outlines must be smooth, […]imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC
    • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable,[…].1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
  2. Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
    • We hope for a smooth transition to the new system.
    • England's path to Poland and Ukraine next summer looked to be a smooth one as goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent gave them a comfortable lead after 31 minutes.2011, Phil McNulty, “Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England”, in BBC
    Synonyms:
    fluid, slick
  3. Bland; glib.
    • This smooth discourse and mild behavior oft / Conceal a traitor.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, (please specify the page)
    • This feeling, grounded on the experience of centuries of oppression, was not to be allayed by smooth explanations on the part of the advocates of the Constitution.1912, Gustavus Myers, History of the Supreme Court of the United States, page 133
  4. Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.
    • the only smooth poet of those times1670, John Milton, The History of Britain
    • VValler vvas ſmooth; but Dryden taught to join / The varying verſe, the full reſounding line, / The long majetſic march, and energy divine.1737, [Alexander Pope], The First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace, Imitated, London: […] T. Cooper, […], →OCLC, page 16
    Synonyms:
    seamless
  5. Suave; sophisticated.
    • He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.2003, T. Lewis Humphrey, The Price of Love, →ISBN, page 279
  6. Natural; unconstrained.
    • In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.2006, Mary Kay Moskal, Camille Blachowicz, Reading for Fluency, →ISBN, page 3
  7. Unbroken.
    • Demonstrate first by the numbers and then as one smooth movement.1927, United States National Guard Bureau, Manual of Basic Training and Standards of Proficiency for the National Guard, page 181
  8. Placid, calm.
    • As we worked to the southward, we picked up fair weather, and enjoyed smooth seas and pleasant skies.1898, John Donaldson Ford, An American Cruiser in the East, page 47
  9. Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.
    • A leaf having a smooth margin, without teeth or indentations of any kind, is called entire.1994, Robert E. Swanson, A Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Southern Appalachians, →ISBN, page 8
    • Out of the handles flipped the smooth blade and the serrated blade, which was dangerously sharp, the flathead screwdrivers, the Phillips screwdriver, the can opener, the awl.1997, Christopher Dickey, Innocent Blood: A Novel, →ISBN, page 91
  10. Not grainy; having an even texture.
    • A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.1997, Lou Seibert Pappas, Sorbets and Ice Creams, →ISBN, page 19
  11. Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.
    • The coffee was smooth, so smooth she took another sip.2002, Candace Irvin, For His Eyes Only, →ISBN, page 9
  12. Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.
    • Any ANALYTIC FUNCTION is smooth. But a smooth function is not necessarily analytic.2003, Eric W. Weisstein, CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics, →ISBN, page 419
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. That factors completely into small prime numbers.
  2. Lacking marked aspiration.
    • Οὐ becomes οὐκ before a smooth vowel, and οὐχ before an aspirate.1830, Benjamin Franklin Fisk, A Grammar of the Greek Language, page 5
    Synonyms:
    even
  3. Involuntary and non-striated.

Adverb

smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)

  1. Smoothly.
    • smooth-running, smooth-tongued, smooth-spoken
    • The paths true love never ran smooth(ly).

Noun

smooth (plural smooths)

  1. Something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.
    • The smooth of his neck.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 27:16
    • I think you and I will take the ups and the downs , the roughs and the smooths of this daily existence and conversation1861 January – 1862 August, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, The Adventures of Philip on His Way through the World; […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […]...
  2. A smoothing action.
    • She brushes down her hair with a little bit of spit and a smooth of her hand and opens the bright green door, walking a few metres, squinting.2006, Julienne Van Loon, Road Story, →ISBN, page 12
  3. A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
    • In the 4-toe stock there is a wide gap between the lowest rough and the smooths which come from the same parents.1916, William Ernest Castle, Sewall Wright, Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-pigs and Rats, page 104
  4. A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
    • By the early 1970s, skinhead culture began to mutate into the variant ‘white ethnic’ styles of the suedeheads and smooths.1999, Peter Childs, Mike Storry, Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture, →ISBN, page 188
  5. The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
    • A smooth of the potato data set has already been given in Figure 1.2.1990, Wolfgang Härdle, Applied Nonparametric Regression, →ISBN, page 17

Verb

smooth (third-person singular simple present smooths, present participle smoothing, simple past and past participle smoothed)

  1. (transitive) To make smooth or even.
    • She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.1961, William Gibson, The Miracle Worker, →ISBN, page 37
    Synonyms:
    smoothen
  2. (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure; to press, to flatten.
    • to smooth cloth with a smoothing iron
  3. (transitive) To make straightforward or easy.
    • Caracas can be a tough place but the tremendously good-natured caraqueños smoothed my passage every step of the way.2007, Beth Kohn, Lonely Planet Venezuela, page 379
  4. (transitive) To calm or palliate.
    • to smooth a person's temper
  5. (image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
    • […] the 7-month moving averages provide better smoothing of the data in this case than do the 3-month moving averages.1999, Murray R. Spiegel, Larry J. Stephens, Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Statistics, →ISBN, page 457
  6. (West-Country) To stroke; especially to stroke an animal's fur.
    • Can I smooth your cat?

smooth meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

smooth in Hindi

lacking friction, not rough
चिकना ciknā

smooth in Tamil

வழுவழுப்பான, நெகுநெகுப்பான

smooth in Marathi

smooth, spotless, unmarred, free from blemishes or irregularities
नितळ nitaḷ

smooth in Urdu

smooth, polished
چکنا ciknā
smooth
نرم narm
More languagesFewer languages
smooth in Bengali
চিকন cikon, তেলা tela, স্নিগ্ধ snigdho
smooth in Telugu
నున్నటి nunnaṭi
smooth in Malayalam
മിനുസ്സമുള്ള minussamuḷḷa, മിനുസ്സം minussaṁ, മിനുസമാർന്ന minusamāṟnna
smooth in Kannada
ನುಣ್ಣಗೆ nuṇṇage
smooth in Punjabi
ਚਿਕਨਾ ciknā, ਸਾਫ਼ sāf
smooth in Gujarati
સુંવાળું sũvāḷũ, ચીકણું cīkṇũ
smooth in Odia
ଚିକ୍କଣ cikkaṇa, ଚିକଣ cikaṇa
smooth in Sanskrit
चिक्कण cikkáṇa, श्लक्ष्ण ślakṣṇá, सृप्र sṛprá
smooth in Sinhala
සිනිදු sinidu
smooth in Nepali
सलल salala
smooth in Tagalog
makinis
smooth in Arabic
نَاعِم nāʕim, أَمْلَس ʔamlas
smooth in Malay
licin
smooth in Indonesian
halus, mulus
smooth in Persian
لیز liz
smooth in Thai
เรียบ rîiap
smooth in Vietnamese
trơn, mượt
smooth in Myanmar
ချော hkyau:

Examples of smooth in a sentence

  • Smooth and slender and naked, Mary Rittersdorf faced her husband.1964, Philip K. Dick, “THIRTEEN”, in Clans of the Alphane Moon, United States: Ace Books, →OCLC; republished London...
  • Teaching that’s done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother.2005, Lesley Brown, Sophist, translation of original by Plato, page 229e:
  • VVhen bright Minerva roſe, / From her ſvveet Lips ſmooth Elocution flovvs, […]1713 (indicated as 1714), [John] Gay, “Book III”, in The Fan. A Poem. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 23:
  • Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...

All 40 example sentences with smooth

Synonyms of smooth

7 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of smooth

Forms of smooth

Adjective
comparativesmoother
superlativesmoothest
alternative form (dialectal)smeeth
alternative verb (archaic)smoothe
Adverb
comparativesmoother
superlativesmoothest
Noun
pluralsmooths
Verb
third-person singular presentsmooths
present participlesmoothing
past participlesmoothed
pastsmoothed

Past tense of smooth: smoothed

Origin of smooth

From Middle English smothe, smethe, from Old English smēþe, smōþ, both from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī, of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots smuith (“smooth”), Saterland Frisian smoud (“smooth”), Low German smood and smödig (“smooth, malleable, ductile”), Dutch smeuïg (“smooth”) (from earlier smeudig).

Words formed from smooth

Phrases with smooth

39 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with smooth

Questions about smooth

What does smooth mean?
Smooth means having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
What is smooth in Hindi?
Smooth in Hindi is चिकना (ciknā). See Smooth meaning in Hindi.
How do you use smooth in a sentence?
Smooth and slender and naked, Mary Rittersdorf faced her husband.
What part of speech is smooth?
Smooth can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce smooth?
Smooth is pronounced /smuːð/.

Words near smooth in the dictionary

  1. smooshing
  2. smooshy
  3. smoot
  4. smoot hole
  5. smoot-hole
  6. smooth
  7. smooth alder
  8. smooth alders
  9. smooth as a baby's bottom
  10. smooth as a baby's bum
  11. smooth as butter

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smooth (page history and authors); smooth (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); नितळ (Marathi) (page history and authors); نرم (Urdu) (page history and authors); চিকন (Bengali) (page history and authors); മിനുസമാർന്ന (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ನುಣ್ಣಗೆ (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਚਿਕਨਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ચીકણું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ଚିକଣ (Odia) (page history and authors); चिक्कण (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); සිනිදු (Sinhala) (page history and authors); सलल (Nepali) (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: en-us-smooth.ogg.

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