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smash

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈsmæʃ// UK //smˈæʃ// smash Archaic Informal Slang Vulgar

v. to break something into many small pieces by hitting it very hard. You can also use it to describe hitting something with a lot of force.

v. to break something into fragments with sudden violence or to strike something with heavy force. Often implies a loud noise and total destruction of the object's form.


SIMPLE

He accidentally smashed the glass on the floor.

CONTEXTUAL

The tennis player managed to smash the ball across the court to win the final point.

COMPLEX

The waves continued to smash against the jagged rocks, slowly eroding the coastline over centuries of relentless winter storms.

Synonyms
Origin

Uncertain, probably of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Swedish smask (“to smack with the lips”), dialectal Swedish smaska (“to smack, kiss”), Danish smaske (“to smack with the lips”), Low German smaksen (“to smack with the lips, kiss”).

Usage

The verb is transitive when breaking an object, but can be intransitive when describing the act of crashing into something (e.g., 'the car smashed into a wall').

Idioms5 entries

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