schmear

noun

ˈshmir 

variants or schmeer

plural schmears or schmeers

1

informal : a group of related things

One false move and the whole schmear [=the entire thing, everything] will come crashing to the floor.

—Jeffrey L. Seglin

2

informal : a layer of a spreadable food or condiment

He eats one virtually every day, 'round noon or 1 p.m., topped with the faintest schmear of peanut butter.

—Mary Bilyeu

especially : a layer of cream cheese

… the reverential tones that the Milanese reserve for a perfect risotto, or New Yorkers for a classic bagel with a schmear.

—Jack Knox

While visiting New York a few years ago, Dan Winters popped into a bodega and ordered a plain with a schmear. The clerk just stared at him, and Winters, who spent four years in the city starting in the late 1980s, realized the guy had no idea what he was saying. Times had changed, even for breakfast. "No one said, 'Let me get a bagel with cream cheese,'" Winters says. "It was 'plain with a schmear.'"

—Laura Mallonee

Examples of schmear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sure, that quick bread might be just fine without any topping, but would a schmear of cream cheese, swirl of butter or dollop of jam add a little something special? —Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 15 June 2024

Shake Shack provided burgers, Serafina catered miniature pizzas and Pop-Up Bagels served strawberry schmear. —Hannah Malach, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019

Bagels without a schmear cost $2, with a plain schmear cost $4.25, and with a specialty schmear cost $5.25. —Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 3 Feb. 2024

The vegetables change seasonally and are always perfectly crisp and served with a schmear of bracingly spicy and/or tart mayo. —Ben Mims, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish shmir smear

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing schmear

• the whole schmear