smack

1 of 7

noun (1)

ˈsmak 

1

: characteristic taste or flavor

also : a perceptible taste or tincture

2

: a small quantity

smack

2 of 7

verb (1)

smacked; smacking; smacks

intransitive verb

1

: to have a taste or flavor

2

: to have a trace, vestige, or suggestion

a proposal that smacks of treason

smack

3 of 7

noun (2)

: a sailing ship (such as a sloop or cutter) used chiefly in coasting and fishing

smack

4 of 7

verb (2)

smacked; smacking; smacks

transitive verb

1

: to close and open (lips) noisily and often in rapid succession especially in eating

2

a

: to kiss with or as if with a smack

b

: to strike so as to produce a smack

intransitive verb

: to make or give a smack

smack

5 of 7

noun (3)

1

: a quick sharp noise made by rapidly compressing and opening the lips

2

: a loud kiss

3

: a sharp slap or blow

4

US, informal : boastful or insulting language especially between opponents : smack talk, trash talk

—usually used in the phrase talk smack

The college basketball season is barely a month old, yet the top two candidates for national player of the year are already talking smack.

—Grant Wahl

smack

6 of 7

adverb

: squarely and sharply : directly

smack in the middle

smack

7 of 7

noun (4)

slang

: heroin

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• ace
• bit
• crumb
• dab
• dram
• driblet
• glimmer
• hint
• lick
• little
• mite
• nip
• ounce
• particle
• peanuts
• ray
• scintilla
• scruple
• shade
• shadow
• shred
• skosh
• smell
• smidgen
• smidgeon
• smidgin
• smidge
• snap
• soupçon
• spark
• spatter
• speck
• splash
• spot
• sprinkling
• strain
• streak
• suspicion
• tad
• touch
• trace

Verb (2)

• bang
• bash
• bat
• belt
• biff
• bludgeon
• bob
• bonk
• bop
• box
• bust
• clap
• clip
• clobber
• clock
• clout
• crack
• hammer
• hit
• knock
• nail
• paste
• pound
• punch
• rap
• slam
• slap
• slog
• slug
• smite
• sock
• strike
• swat
• swipe
• tag
• thump
• thwack
• wallop
• whack
• whale
• zap

Noun (3)

• bang
• bash
• bat
• beat
• belt
• biff
• blow
• bop
• box
• buffet
• bust
• chop
• clap
• clip
• clout
• crack
• cuff
• dab
• douse [British]
• fillip
• hack
• haymaker
• hit
• hook
• knock
• larrup [dialect]
• lash
• lick
• pelt
• pick
• plump
• poke
• pound
• punch
• rap
• slam
• slap
• slug
• smash
• sock
• spank
• stinger
• stripe
• stroke
• swat
• swipe
• switch
• thud
• thump
• thwack
• wallop
• welt
• whack
• wham
• whop
• whap

Examples of smack in a Sentence

Noun (1)

add just a smack of vanilla to the whipped cream and the dessert will be perfect

Verb (2)

he smacked the punching bag one final time before heading to the showers

Noun (3)

the cook gave him a smack on the wrist when he tried to sneak an early taste of the sauce

Adverb

She dropped the book smack in the middle of the table.

The ball hit me smack in the face.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But the Yankees are coming off a crushing loss in the World Series that was followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers talking smack about them right after it. —Chris Kirschner, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025

Booth either has to try to find a sucker who’ll eat a bad contract or accept a sell-off that makes his team worse right smack dab in the middle of a contention window. —Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025

Verb

Yates took his anger out on a chair, smacking the bench, the redshirt freshman guard dropping 18 points and three threes to little avail. —Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2025

For the last three weeks, Democrats up and down the seniority list have been stuck playing an especially frustrating game of Whac-a-Mole: smack the outrage of the hour and then race to hit the next one, never quite leveling the field. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025

Adverb

Checking into The Rowan The seven-story hotel sits smack in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, enjoying city and mountain views. —Leslie Kelly, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025

LaVine didn’t care if Williams missed a shot or ran smack into a defender or dribbled the ball off his foot. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English smæc; akin to Old High German smac taste and probably to Lithuanian smaguris sweet tooth

Noun (2)

Dutch smak or Low German smack

Verb (2)

akin to Middle Dutch smacken to strike

Noun (4)

perhaps from Yiddish shmek sniff, whiff, pinch (of snuff)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1533, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1557, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (3)

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1782, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

circa 1960, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing smack

• smack-dab
• smack of
• smack one's lips
• smack talk

Rhymes for smack

• ack
• brack
• clack
• crack
• dak
• flack
• flak
• hack
• jack
• knack
• lac
• lack

Kids Definition

smack

1 of 5 noun

ˈsmak 

1

: characteristic or slight taste or flavor

2

: a small quantity

smack

2 of 5 verb

: to have a flavor, trace, or suggestion

smack

3 of 5 verb

1

: to close and open the lips noisily especially in eating

2

: to kiss usually loudly

3

: to make or give a sharp slap or blow

smack

4 of 5 noun

1

: a quick sharp noise made by rapidly opening and closing the lips

2

: a loud kiss

3

: a sharp slap or blow

smack

5 of 5 adverb

: in a square and sharp manner : directly

hit me smack in the face

Etymology

Noun

Old English smæc "a characteristic taste or flavor"