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smear

Pronunciation: /smɪə(ɹ)/

The English word “smear” has 20 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To spread (a substance, especially one that colours or is dirty) across a surface by rubbing.
  2. To cover (a surface with a layer of some substance) by rubbing.
  3. To make something dirty.
  4. (of a substance, etc.) To make a surface dirty by covering it.
  5. To damage someone's reputation by slandering, misrepresenting, or otherwise making false accusations about them, their statements, or their actions.
  6. To cause (something) to be messy or not clear by rubbing and spreading it.
  7. To become messy or not clear by being spread.
  8. To write or draw (something) by spreading a substance on a surface.
  9. To cause (something) to be a particular colour by covering with a substance.
  10. To rub (a body part, etc.) across a surface.
  11. To attempt to remove (a substance) from a surface by rubbing.
  12. To climb without using footholds, using the friction from the shoe to stay on the wall.

noun

  1. A mark made by smearing.
  2. A presentation of a sauce, purée or other food item, which is placed in a dollop and spread across the plate.
  3. A false or unsupported, malicious statement intended to injure a person's reputation.
  4. A preparation to be examined under a microscope, made by spreading a thin layer of a substance (such as blood, bacterial culture) on a slide.
  5. A Pap smear (screening test for cervical cancer).
  6. Any of various forms of distortion that make a signal harder to see or hear.
  7. A maneuver in which a shoe is placed onto a holdless rock, and the friction from the shoe keeps it in contact with the rock.
  8. A rough glissando in jazz music.

Etymology

From Middle English smeren, smerien, from Old English smerian, smyrian, smierwan (“to anoint or rub with grease, oil, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *smirwijan, from Proto-Germanic *smirwijaną. Doublet of schmear. Cognate with Saterland Frisian smeere, Dutch smeren (“to smear, lubricate”), Low German smeren, German schmieren (“to smear, lubricate”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål smøre (“to…

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