variants or less commonly whip smart or whipsmart
: very smart or clever
whip-smart dialogue
But underestimate or patronise Jessica at your peril. She's whip-smart, ultra-ambitious and brutally honest.Kerry Potter
He is also whip smart and tenacious, driven and efficient, typical of the breed so often attracted to academic medical research.Lisa Belkin

Examples of whip-smart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Over the course of three seasons, viewers have come to know Kate (Keri Russell) and Hal (Rufus Sewell) Wyler as a zany, passionate, whip-smart and occasionally toxic couple whose entire romantic history is wrapped up in their high-stakes careers. Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 May 2026 The topical, darkly funny, whip-smart series from Eric Kripke follows a band of vigilante misfits who fight to expose the all-powerful, corrupt conglomerate Vought International and its stable of villainous superheroes. Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026 Sophia is a whip-smart six-year-old, lovely but familiar. Literary Hub, 7 May 2026 At 39, Fleming has spent the better part of a decade slowly building a reputation in comedy circles for his absurdist takes on modern life and whip-smart observations about generational divides in the digital age. Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for whip-smart

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whip-smart was in 1942

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Cite this Entry

“Whip-smart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whip-smart. Accessed 16 May. 2026.

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