smart

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English smert causing pain, from Old English smeart; akin to Old English smeortan Date: before 12th century 1. making one smart ; causing a sharp stinging 2. marked by often sharp forceful activity or vigorous strength <

a smart pull of the starter cord

> 3. brisk, spirited <

a smart pace

> 4. a. mentally alert ; bright b. knowledgeable c. shrewd <

a smart investment

> 5. a. witty, clever <

a smart sitcom

> b. pert, saucy <

don't get smart with me

> 6. a. neat, trim <

soldiers in smart uniforms

> b. stylish or elegant in dress or appearance c. (1) appealing to sophisticated tastes (2) characteristic of or patronized by fashionable society 7. a. being a guided missile <

a laser-guided smart bomb

> b. operating by automation <

a smart machine tool

> c. intelligent 3 • smartly adverb • smartness noun II. intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English smerten, from Old English smeortan; akin to Old High German smerzan to pain Date: 13th century 1. to cause or be the cause or seat of a sharp stinging pain; also to feel or have such a pain 2. a. to feel or endure distress, remorse, or embarrassment <

smarting from wounded vanity — W. L. Shirer

> b. to pay a heavy or stinging penalty <

would have to smart for this foolishness

> III. noun Date: 13th century 1. a smarting pain; especially a stinging local pain 2. poignant grief or remorse <

was not the sort to get over smarts — Sir Winston Churchill

> 3. plural, slang intelligence, know-how IV. adverb Date: 13th century in a smart manner ; smartly