Word.ws English Dictionary

smooth operators

smooth operators is the plural of smooth operator.

Meaning of smooth operator

Noun

smooth operator (plural smooth operators)

  1. (idiomatic) A person who accomplishes tasks with efficiency and grace, especially one with verbal skills who is persuasive in interpersonal relationships, negotiation, etc.
    • In Washington he has earned a reputation as a smooth operator who can handle lobbyists, bureaucrats and even Congressmen, with a cool head.1986 February 10, “American Notes: Agriculture”, in Time, archived from the original on 21 Dec 2008
  2. (idiomatic) A skillful, manipulative person, con artist, or clever scoundrel.
    • He plays the hospital administrator, a fast-talking smooth operator who cons patients and doctors alike.1972 September 29, Fred Wright, “Film Review: Sex Film Minus Punchline?”, in St. Petersburg Independent, retrieved 13 Oct 2008, page 5-B

Questions about smooth operators

What is smooth operators the plural of?
Smooth operators is the plural of smooth operator.

Words near smooth operators in the dictionary

  1. smooth muscle
  2. smooth muscles
  3. smooth newt
  4. smooth newts
  5. smooth operator
  6. smooth operators
  7. smooth out
  8. smooth over
  9. smooth sailing
  10. smooth shark
  11. smooth sharked

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smooth operators (page history and authors); smooth operator (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: “smooth operators.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/smooth_operators. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.