Smash Meaning
/smæʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe sound of a violent impact; a violent striking together.
nounA traffic collision.
Sentence Examples
The people are like children: they must smash everything to see what is inside.
Tom raised the crowbar intending to smash his attacker's head.
CEFR Practice Quiz
If you drop the glass, it will ____ into tiny pieces.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He accidentally hit the expensive vase with his elbow, causing it to ____ into a thousand pieces.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The footage of this scene has been re-used in several later films where a good, convincing train smash was required, notably in "Seven Sinners" (1937)."
— 1958 February 26, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 90:
"The dress is a smash."
— 2007 June 26, Jackie Collins, Drop Dead Beautiful, St. Martin's Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 440:
"[…]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."
— 2012 November 15, Tom Lamont, “How Mumford & Sons became the biggest band in the world”, in The Daily Telegraph:
"All together, this look is a smash in our books."
— 2019 May 1, Ginaluca Russo, “Taylor Swift Stuns In a Periwinkle Ruffle Mini Dress on the Billboard Music Awards Red Carpet”, in Teen Vogue:
"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."
— 2011 July 3, Piers Newbury, “Wimbledon 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in final”, in BBC Sport:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
If you drop the glass, it will ____ into tiny pieces.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He accidentally hit the expensive vase with his elbow, causing it to ____ into a thousand pieces.