smart

B1 Topic:Describing People

US /smɑɹt/ UK /smɑːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #899

Meanings

1

adj
Intelligent and clever.

She is smart enough to solve the problem on her own.
2

adj
Using computer technology to behave intelligently.

He controls the lights in his house with a smart phone app.
3

verb
To feel a sharp, stinging pain.

The cut on my hand smarted when I washed it.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · intelligent and clever. clever bright intelligent brilliant

Word family

Forms smartedsmartersmartestsmartssmarty

Derived forms arsesmartbesmartbook-smarthypersmartnonsmartnosesmartoutsmartquicksmartsemismartsmarksmart-alecksmart-aleckism

Etymology

From Middle English smert, smart, from Old English smeart (“smarting, smart, painful”), from Proto-West Germanic *smart, from Proto-Germanic *smartaz (“hurting, aching”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert (“painful, smart”), Old Frisian smert (“sharp, painful”).

smert Middle English smeart Old English *smart Proto-West Germanic *smartaz Proto-Germanic *(s)merd- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

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# smart

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /smɑɹt/
**IPA (UK):** /smɑːt/
**Frequency rank:** 899

## Meanings
1. Intelligent and clever.
2. Using computer technology to behave intelligently.
3. To feel a sharp, stinging pain.

## Examples
- She is smart enough to solve the problem on her own.
- He controls the lights in his house with a smart phone app.
- The cut on my hand smarted when I washed it.

## Derived Forms
- arsesmart
- besmart
- book-smart
- hypersmart
- nonsmart
- nosesmart
- outsmart
- quicksmart
- semismart
- smark
- smart-aleck
- smart-aleckism

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: smert
- Root: smeart
- Root: *smart
- Root: *smartaz
- Root: *(s)merd-

## Etymology
From Middle English smert, smart, from Old English smeart (“smarting, smart, painful”), from Proto-West Germanic *smart, from Proto-Germanic *smartaz (“hurting, aching”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert (“painful, smart”), Old Frisian smert (“sharp, painful”).

## AI Etymology
Smart is from Middle English smert, smart, from Old English smeart (“smarting, smart, painful”), from Proto-West Germanic *smart, from Proto-Germanic *smartaz (“hurting, aching”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd- (“to bite, sting”). Cognate with Scots smert (“painful, smart”), Old Frisian smert (“sharp, painful”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English smert, Old English smeart, Proto-West Germanic *smart, Proto-Germanic *smartaz, Proto-Indo-European *(s)merd-. In current use it includes senses such as Intelligent and clever and Using computer technology to behave intelligently.

## Topics
- Describing People

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smart

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