smash

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Onomatopoeic

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

smash (plural smashes)

  1. The sound of a violent impact; a violent striking together.
    I could hear the screech of the brakes, then the horrible smash of cars colliding.
  2. (UK, colloquial) A traffic accident.
    The driver and two passengers were badly injured in the smash.
  3. (colloquial, entertainment) Something very successful.
    This new show of mine is sure to be a smash.
    • 2012, Tom Lamont, How Mumford & Sons became the biggest band in the world (in The Daily Telegraph, 15 November 2012)[1]
      Soundcheck for the band, today, takes place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It is late afternoon and while the arena's 17,000 outdoor seats are still empty the four members of Mumford & Sons – prospering British folk band, in the middle of a long tour of Australia, the US and the UK, their newly released album Babel a smash on all fronts – wander to centre stage.
  4. (tennis) A very hard overhead shot hit sharply downward.
    A smash may not be as pretty as a good half volley, but it can still win points.
    • 2011 July 3, Piers Newbury, “Wimbledon 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in final”, BBC Sport:
      A Nadal forehand into the net gave Djokovic the set and the Spaniard appeared rattled, firing a smash over the baseline in a rare moment of promise at 30-30 at the start of the third.
  5. (colloquial, archaic) bankruptcy

Synonyms [edit]

  • (sound of a violent impact): crash
  • (colloquial: traffic accident): crash
  • (colloquial: something very successful): smash hit

Translations [edit]

sound of a violent impact
colloquial: traffic accident
colloquial: something very successful
in tennis

Verb [edit]

smash (third-person singular simple present smashes, present participle smashing, simple past and past participle smashed)

  1. To break (something brittle) violently.
    The demolition team smashed the buildings to rubble.
    The flying rock smashed the window to pieces.
    • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
      Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing. Yet oddly enough I found here a far more unlikely substance, and that was camphor. I found it in a sealed jar, that, by chance, I supposed had been really hermetically sealed. I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable. It struck me as singularly odd, that among the universal decay, this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousand years. Is reminded me of a sepia painting I had once seen done from the ink of a fossil Belemnite that must have perished and become fossilized millions of years ago. I was about to throw this camphor on one side, and then remembering that it was inflammable and burnt with a good bright flame, I put it into my pocket.
  2. To hit extremely hard.
    He smashed his head against the table
    Bonds smashed the ball 467 feet, the second longest home run in the history of the park.
  3. (figuratively) To ruin completely and suddenly.
    The news smashed any hopes of a reunion.
  4. (transitive, figuratively) To defeat overwhelmingly.
    The Indians smashed the Yankees 22-0.
  5. (US) To deform through continuous pressure.
    I slowly smashed the modeling clay flat with the palm of my hand.
  6. (intransitive) To be destroyed by being smashed.
    The crockery smashed as it hit the floor.

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

to break violently
hit extremely hard
figuratively: to ruin completely and suddenly
figuratively: to defeat overwhelmingly
be destroyed by being smashed

Related terms [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

French [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Loanword from English

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

smash m (plural smashs)

  1. (tennis) smash

Related terms [edit]

Italian [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Loanword from English

Noun [edit]

smash m (invariable)

  1. smash (tennis shot)
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