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Webster 1913 Edition

Smart

Smart

(smärt)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Smarted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Smarting
.]
[OE.
smarten
, AS.
smeortan
; akin to D.
smarten
,
smerten
, G.
schmerzen
, OHG.
smerzan
, Dan.
smerte
, Sw.
smärta
, D.
smart
,
smert
, a pain, G.
schmerz
, OHG.
smerzo
, and probably to L.
mordere
to bite; cf. Gr.
σμερδνός
,
σμερδαλέος
, terrible, fearful, Skr.
mṛd
to rub, crush. Cf.
Morsel
.]
1.
To feel a lively, pungent local pain; – said of some part of the body as the seat of irritation;
as, my finger
smarts
; these wounds
smart
.
Chaucer.
Shak.
2.
To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to suffer; to feel the sting of evil;
as, the team is still
smarting
from its loss of the championship
.
No creature
smarts
so little as a fool.
Pope.
He that is surety for a stranger shall
smart
for it.
Prov. xi. 15.

Smart

,
Verb.
T.
To cause a smart in.
“A goad that . . . smarts the flesh.”
T. Adams.

Smart

,
Noun.
[OE.
smerte
. See
Smart
,
Verb.
I.
]
1.
Quick, pungent, lively pain; a pricking local pain, as the pain from puncture by nettles.
“In pain’s smart.”
Chaucer.
2.
Severe, pungent pain of mind; pungent grief;
as, the
smart
of affliction
.
To stand 'twixt us and our deserved
smart
.
Milton.
Counsel mitigates the greatest
smart
.
Spenser.
3.
A fellow who affects smartness, briskness, and vivacity; a dandy.
[Slang]
Fielding.
4.
Smart money (see below).
[Canf]

Smart

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Smarter
;
sup
erl.
Smartest
.]
[OE.
smerte
. See
Smart
,
Verb.
I.
]
1.
Causing a smart; pungent; pricking;
as, a
smart
stroke or taste
.
How
smart
lash that speech doth give my conscience.
Shakespeare
2.
Keen; severe; poignant;
as,
smart
pain
.
3.
Vigorous; sharp; severe.
“Smart skirmishes, in which many fell.”
Clarendon.
4.
Accomplishing, or able to accomplish, results quickly; active; sharp; clever.
[Colloq.]
5.
Efficient; vigorous; brilliant.
“The stars shine smarter.”
Dryden.
6.
Marked by acuteness or shrewdness; quick in suggestion or reply; vivacious; witty;
as, a
smart
reply; a
smart
saying
.
Who, for the poor renown of being
smart

Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?
Young.
A sentence or two, . . . which I thought very
smart
.
Addison.
7.
Pretentious; showy; spruce;
as, a
smart
gown
.
8.
Brisk; fresh;
as, a
smart
breeze
.
Smart money
.
(a)
Money paid by a person to buy himself off from some unpleasant engagement or some painful situation
.
(b)
(Mil.)
Money allowed to soldiers or sailors, in the English service, for wounds and injures received; also, a sum paid by a recruit, previous to being sworn in, to procure his release from service
.
(c)
(Law)
Vindictive or exemplary damages; damages beyond a full compensation for the actual injury done
.
Burrill.
Greenleaf.
–
Smart ticket
,
a certificate given to wounded seamen, entitling them to smart money.
[Eng.]
Brande & C.
Syn. – Pungent; poignant; sharp; tart; acute; quick; lively; brisk; witty; clever; keen; dashy; showy.
–
Smart
,
Clever
. Smart has been much used in New England to describe a person who is intelligent, vigorous, and active; as, a smart young fellow; a smart workman, etc., conciding very nearly with the English sense of clever. The nearest approach to this in England is in such expressions as, he was smart (pungent or witty) in his reply, etc.; but smart and smartness, when applied to persons, more commonly refer to dress; as, a smart appearance; a smart gown, etc.

Webster 1828 Edition

Smart

SM'ART

,
Noun.
[This word is probably formed on the root of L. amarus, bitter, that is, sharp.]
1.
Quick, pungent, lively pain; a pricking local pain, as the pain from puncture by nettles; as the smart of bodily punishment.
2.
Severe pungent pain of mind; pungent grief; as the smart of affliction.

SM'ART

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To feel a lively pungent pain, particularly a pungent local pain from some piercing or irritating application. Thus Cayeene pepper applied to the tongue makes it smart.
2.
To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain; as, to smart under sufferings.
3.
To be punished; to bear penalties or the evil consequences of any thing. He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it. Prov. 11.

SM'ART

, a.
1.
Pungent; pricking; causing a keen local pain; as a smart lash or stroke; a smart quality or taste.
2.
Keen; severe; poignant; as smart pain or sufferings.
3.
Quick; vigorous; sharp; severe; as a smart skirmish.
4.
Brisk; fresh; as a smart breeze.
5.
Acute and pertinent; witty; as a smart reply; a smart saying.
6.
Brisk; vivacious; as a smart rhetorician. Who, for the poor renown of being smart, would leave a sting within a brother's heart?

SM'ART

,
Noun.
A cant word for a fellow that affects briskness and vivacity.

Definition 2024

Smart

Smart

See also: smart, SMART, smärt, and S.M.A.R.T.

English

Proper noun

Smart

  1. A surname​.

smart

smart

See also: SMART, Smart, smärt, and S.M.A.R.T.

English

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To hurt or sting.
    After being hit with a pitch, the batter exclaimed "Ouch, my arm smarts!"
    • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula Chapter 21
      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."
  2. (transitive) To cause a smart or sting in.
    • T. Adams
      A goad that […] smarts the flesh.
  3. To feel a pungent pain of mind; to feel sharp pain or grief; to suffer; to feel the sting of evil.
    • Alexander Pope
      No creature smarts so little as a fool.
    • Bible, Proverbs xi. 15
      He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it.
    • 1790, Ann Ward Radcliffe, chapter 11, in A Sicilian Romance, HTML edition:
      Meanwhile the Abate exulted in successful vengeance, and the marquis smarted beneath the stings of disappointment.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English smart, smarte, smerte, from Old English smeart ‎(“smarting, smart, painful”), 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”).

Adjective

smart ‎(comparative smarter or more smart, superlative smartest or most smart)

  1. Causing sharp pain; stinging.
    • Shakespeare
      How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience.
  2. Sharp; keen; poignant.
    a smart pain
  3. Exhibiting social ability or cleverness.
    • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 19
      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.
  4. Exhibiting intellectual knowledge, such as that found in books.
  5. (often in combination) Equipped with digital/computer technology.
    smart bomb, smart car
    smartcard, smartphone
  6. Good-looking.
    a smart outfit
  7. Cleverly shrewd and humorous in a way that may be rude and disrespectful.
    He became tired of his daughter's sarcasm and smart remarks.
    • Young
      Who, for the poor renown of being smart / Would leave a sting within a brother's heart?
    • Addison
      a sentence or two, […] which I thought very smart
  8. Sudden and intense.
    • Clarendon
      smart skirmishes, in which many fell
    • 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 of Henry David Thoreau, Beacon Press, (Boston, 1993), page 239:
      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.
  9. (US, Southern, dated) Intense in feeling; painful. Used usually with the adverb intensifier right.
    He raised his voice, and it hurt her feelings right smart.
    That cast on his leg chaffs him right smart.
  10. (archaic) Efficient; vigorous; brilliant.
    • Dryden
      The stars shine smarter.
  11. (archaic) Pretentious; showy; spruce.
    a smart gown
  12. (archaic) Brisk; fresh.
    a smart breeze
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 3

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.

Noun

smart ‎(plural smarts)

  1. A sharp, quick, lively pain; a sting.
  2. Mental pain or suffering; grief; affliction.
    • Milton
      To stand 'twixt us and our deserved smart.
    • Spenser
      Counsel mitigates the greatest smart.
  3. Smart-money.
  4. (slang, dated) A dandy; one who is smart in dress; one who is brisk, vivacious, or clever.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Fielding to this entry?)

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

smart f, m ‎(plural smarten)

  1. pain, sorrow, grief

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From English smart

Adjective

smart ‎(neuter singular smart, definite singular and plural smarte, comparative smartere, indefinite superlative smartest, definite superlative smarteste)

  1. clever (mentally sharp or bright)
  2. smart

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English smart

Adjective

smart ‎(neuter singular smart, definite singular and plural smarte, comparative smartare, indefinite superlative smartast, definite superlative smartaste)

  1. clever (mentally sharp or bright)
  2. smart

References

Spanish

Adjective

smart ‎(invariable)

  1. smart (with smart technology)

Swedish

Pronunciation

Etymology

Borrowing from English smart.

Adjective

smart (comparative smartare, superlative smartast)

  1. smart; clever

Declension

Inflection of smart
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular smart smartare smartast
Neuter singular smart smartare smartast
Plural smarta smartare smartast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 smarte smartare smartaste
All smarta smartare smartaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in an attributive role.

Etymology

From Middle English smerten, from Old English smeortan ‎(“to smart”), 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.

Pronunciation

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