street smarts

plural noun

: the quality of being streetwise

Examples of street smarts in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bus operators rely on common sense and street smarts when confronted with unexpected events and emergencies, ranging from flash floods to terrorism. Curtis Tate, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2024 His Catwoman, in the final installment of his trilogy, needed to exude intelligence, toughness, and street smarts. Chris Bellamy and Stephanie Kaloi, EW.com, 2 May 2024 As Hernández Cordón pointed out, Calva straddles the line between his middle-class upbringing, raised by a single mother who instilled in him an affinity for the arts, and the street smarts attained by wandering a large metropolis with kids from other socioeconomic backgrounds. Carlos Aguilar, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2023 Kotick grew up in Roslyn, N.Y., and has the kind of Long Island street smarts that have helped many East Coast expats in Hollywood. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 31 May 2023 See all Example Sentences for street smarts 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'street smarts.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of street smarts was in 1966

Dictionary Entries Near street smarts

Cite this Entry

“Street smarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/street%20smarts. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

street smarts

plural noun
: the quality of being streetwise

More from Merriam-Webster on street smarts

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