smart
/smɑːt/ IELTSAcademic
adjective
Quickly aware and clever. A smart person learns and understands things fast. It can also mean neat, well-dressed, or stylish.
- She is a smart student.
- He made a smart choice.
- That is a smart jacket.
verb
To feel a sharp pain, often for a short time. People usually use this with body parts or wounds.
- My cut still smarts.
- Her eyes smarted from the smoke.
Adinary Nuance
Smart is a broad word, so context matters. For people, it means clever or quick-thinking, but it can sound less formal than intelligent. For clothes or appearance, it means neat and stylish, not necessarily expensive. In British English, smart is very common for both meanings.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- thông minh
- Spanish
- inteligente
- Chinese
- 聪明
- Japanese
- 賢い
- Korean
- 똑똑한
Etymology
Old English had the word smeart, meaning 'painful' or 'stinging'. The modern meaning 'clever' developed later, and 'well-dressed' came from ideas of being sharp and neat.
Common phrases
smart choicesmart clothessmart enoughlook smart
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is smart the same as intelligent?
- Often yes, but smart is more common in everyday speech. Intelligent can sound a little more formal.
- Can smart mean 'well-dressed'?
- Yes. In British English, smart often means neat and stylish.
- Is smart used in business writing?
- Yes, especially in phrases like smart choice, smart solution, and smart thinking.
- Can smart be a verb?
- Yes, but it is less common. It means to feel a sharp pain.