Definition of smear
1a : a viscous or sticky substanceb : a spot made by or as if by an unctuous or adhesive substance
2 : material smeared on a surface (as of a microscopic slide); also : a preparation made by smearing material on a surface a vaginal smear
3 : a usually unsubstantiated charge or accusation against a person or organization —often used attributively a smear campaign a smear job
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Examples of smear in a Sentence
The blood smear revealed malaria.
Recent Examples of smear from the Web
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Nutt, the head coach from 2008-2011, says Freeze and Bjork ran a smear campaign against him by telling reporters Nutt was to blame for the violations.
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A day after former Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt accused the school—and Freeze specifically—of running a smear campaign against him to save the 2016 recruiting class, Freeze could do neither his school nor himself any favors by lashing out at Nutt.
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Today Judge Beaudet dismissed the Mandels’ declaratory relief claim, and struck from their cross-complaint over eighty paragraphs of allegations containing frivolous smears against Johnny Depp, which constituted their ‘
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A simple smear of mustard may do for purists, but there is so much potential to explore between the halves of that white squishy bun.
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A report on internal investigation at the state Department of Education says five education officials were involved in a smear campaign against Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Craig Pouncey, Alabama Political Reporter has reported.
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Layers of graffiti and fingerprint smears of a mystery substance covered the walls.
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In Peerenboom's lawsuit, filed in 2013, Perlmutter and his wife Laura are blamed for a nasty smear campaign.
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Reason for detention: The two American journalists were charged with entering North Korea illegally to conduct a smear campaign.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smear.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of smear
Middle English smere, from Old English smeoru; akin to Old High German smero grease and probably to Old Irish smiur marrow
smear
Definition of smear
transitive verb
1a : to overspread with something unctuous, viscous, or adhesive : daub smeared the paper with glueb : to spread over a surface
2a : to stain, smudge, or dirty by or as if by smearingb : sully, besmirch; specifically : to vilify especially by secretly and maliciously spreading grave charges and imputations
3 : to obliterate, obscure, blur, blend, wipe out, or defeat by or as if by smearing
smearer
nounExamples of smear in a Sentence
The children smeared the window with fingerprints.
She smeared jam on her toast.
Butter was smeared all over the counter.
Her mascara smeared when she cried.
Recent Examples of smear from the Web
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A few weeks ago, Hayek was championing smearing fruit on your skin at a press event for Juice Generation’s Blend-It-Yourself, a new line of smoothies — four of which double as face masks.
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But the day Nelson stood near the edge of a marsh, his arms smeared with fresh horse manure to mask his scent, and killed that buck — that was something altogether different.
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By the time the cake is finished, we are dusted in glitter and Teigen has a blob of teal buttercream smeared on one of her boots.
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In her single-minded focus on school choice, district defenders have said, DeVos used an out-of-date anecdote to smear local schools.
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Dishes like a whole head of John Dory smeared in umami butter—served with Tokyo turnips and the curious desert plant salt-bush—offer a nuanced mix of indigenous and immigrant flavors.
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In the case of Kim Jong Nam, it was smeared on his face as a kind of cream.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'smear.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of smear
before 12th century
SMEAR Defined for English Language Learners
smear
playDefinition of smear for English Language Learners
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: a dirty mark, spot, streak, etc., made by touching or rubbing something
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medical : a very small sample of something (such as skin or blood) that someone examines with a microscope
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: an untrue story about a person that is meant to hurt that person's reputation
smear
Definition of smear for English Language Learners
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: to make (something) dirty by rubbing it with something else
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: to spread (something) over a surface
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: to spread or drip in an untidy way
SMEAR Defined for Kids
Definition of smear for Students
smeared
;smearing
1 : to spread or soil with something oily or sticky So Bean carefully smeared white all over Ivy's face except her lips. — Annie Barrows, Ivy {ampersand} Bean
2 : to spread over a surface Her makeup smeared.
3 : to harm the reputation of (someone) with false statements
Medical Dictionary
Medical Definition of smear
: material spread on a surface (as of a microscopic slide); also : a preparation made by spreading material on a surface—see pap smear, vaginal smear
smear
Medical Definition of smear
: to prepare as a smear for microscopic examination : make a smear of
Learn More about smear
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See words that rhyme with smear Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for smear Spanish Central: Translation of smear Nglish: Translation of smear for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of smear for Arabic speakers
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