street smarts

plural noun

: the quality of being streetwise

Examples of street smarts in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Milstein was able to overcome the pressures that department stores put on vendors to not sell off-price to Burlington with his Seventh Avenue street smarts, wholesale background, and by getting many outerwear vendors to consider Burlington as crucial to their business. David Moin, Footwear News, 13 May 2025 More love games for Ellie and Dina The show’s framing of Dina is overall very different, giving her much deeper tactical knowledge and street smarts than the more impulsive Ellie. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 May 2025 But use your street smarts to select and your skills to execute better. Dileep Rao, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025 The car wash in itself is another example of the impossibly big shoes Ava left to fill; her cunning, charisma, and street smarts were the glue holding the school together. Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 3 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for street smarts

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

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

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Cite this Entry

“Street smarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/street%20smarts. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

street smarts

plural noun
: the quality of being streetwise

More from Merriam-Webster on street smarts

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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