smash
Other forms: smashed; smashing; smashes
To smash something is to hit or throw it so hard that it breaks or is hurt. It's important to pay careful attention while you're driving so you don't smash into the car in front of you.
A running child can smash into her friend and knock her down, and an angry chef can smash a plate by throwing it on the floor. In the latter example, there's the additional meaning of "break into pieces." A smash can be a car accident, but it can also be a "great big success," like a TV series that starts slow but turns out to be a smash. This "hit" meaning dates from 1920s reviews of Broadway plays.
Definitions of smash
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hit violently
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hit hard
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collide or strike violently and suddenly
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break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over“Smash a plate”
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synonyms:
dash
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types:
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blast, knock down
shatter as if by explosion
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type of:
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break
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
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blast, knock down
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break suddenly into pieces, as from a violent blow“The window smashed”
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Synonyms:
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dash
break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over
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type of:
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break, come apart, fall apart, separate, split up
become separated into pieces or fragments
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dash
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damage or destroy as if by violence
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overthrow or destroy (something considered evil or harmful)
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the act of colliding with something
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a serious collision (especially of motor vehicles)
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a vigorous blow
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with a loud crash“the car went smash through the fence”
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synonyms:
smashingly
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hit (a tennis ball) in a powerful overhead stroke
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type of:
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hit
cause to move by striking
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hit
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a hard return hitting the tennis ball above your head
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humiliate or depress completely
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reduce to bankruptcy“The slump in the financial markets smashed him”
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type of:
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impoverish
make poor
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impoverish
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a conspicuous success
Pronunciation
US
/smæʃ/
UK
/smæʃ/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘smash'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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