1
: characteristic taste or flavor
also
: a perceptible taste or tincture
2
: a small quantity
smacked; smacking; smacks
1
: to have a taste or flavor
2
: to have a trace, vestige, or suggestion
a proposal that smacks of treason
: a sailing ship (such as a sloop or cutter) used chiefly in coasting and fishing
smacked; smacking; smacks
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
: to make or give a smack
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
Grant WahlSynonyms
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 WebDavid Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 July 2024
And at 7,000 feet, Flagstaff is smack dab in the middle of the physiological sweet spot, high enough to reap the benefits of living at altitude but not high enough to produce adverse side effects such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and sleep problems that can occur above 9,000 feet.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 14 Aug. 2024
Blake Snell’s bid to join Johnny Vander Meer in the history books may have come up short, but the Giants got their 13th, 14th and 15th home runs of the road trip and smacked the Nationals, 7-4, to even their record back to .500 (58-58) and guarantee that no matter the result of Thursday’s 9:05 a.m.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024
What about a date change so that the festival doesn’t fall smack in the middle of the high tourist season?
—Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for smack 
Noun
Chris has a group of friends who are also first-generation East Asian kids, and all love pranks, talking smack about each other online and in-person, and making would-be viral videos for this relatively new site called YouTube.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 July 2024
And at 7,000 feet, Flagstaff is smack dab in the middle of the physiological sweet spot, high enough to reap the benefits of living at altitude but not high enough to produce adverse side effects such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and sleep problems that can occur above 9,000 feet.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2024
Verb
The boom in podcasts also gives contestants an additional platform to talk game — and smack —about other players outside of filming.
—Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 14 Aug. 2024
Blake Snell’s bid to join Johnny Vander Meer in the history books may have come up short, but the Giants got their 13th, 14th and 15th home runs of the road trip and smacked the Nationals, 7-4, to even their record back to .500 (58-58) and guarantee that no matter the result of Thursday’s 9:05 a.m.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2024
Adverb
But on that day in Tokyo, as skating made its Olympic debut beneath a fiery sun, Huston ran smack into one of the undeniable truths of his sport.
—David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024
What about a date change so that the festival doesn’t fall smack in the middle of the high tourist season?
—Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for smack
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Smack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smack. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
smack
1 of 5 noun1
: 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 verb1
: 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 noun1
: 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"
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