1. Spread a substance across a surface so it forms a streak or indistinct coating.
2. Attack someone's reputation through misleading or unjust accusations.
3. A thin layer of material spread on a slide or surface for examination.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- smear paint
- smear across glass
On the page
His sleeve smeared the paint across the glass.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- smear
- Past tense
- smeared
- Past participle
- smeared
- Present participle
- smearing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- smear
- Present continuous
- am/is/are smearing
- Present perfect
- have/has smeared
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been smearing
- Past
- smeared
- Past continuous
- was/were smearing
- Past perfect
- had smeared
- Past perfect continuous
- had been smearing
- Future
- will smear
- Future continuous
- will be smearing
- Future perfect
- will have smeared
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been smearing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: smear; smears; smeared; smeared; smearing. Noun singular smear; plural smears. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: smears.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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