I. smear 1 /smɪə $ smɪr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: smeoru 'fatty material' ]
1 . a dirty mark made by a small amount of something spread across a surface
smear of
a smear of paint
It left a black smear on his arm.
2 . British English a ↑ smear test
3 . an untrue story about a politician or other important person that is told in order to make people lose respect for them – used especially in newspapers
—smeary adjective :
a smeary glass
• • •
THESAURUS
■ a dirty mark
▪ mark a dirty area on something that spoils its appearance:
The bark of the tree had made black marks on her trousers.
▪ spot a small mark on something:
a grease spot on my shirt
▪ stain a mark that is difficult to remove, especially one made by a dark liquid:
a wine stain on the tablecloth
|
blood stains
▪ smudge a mark that is made when something touches against a surface:
There was a smudge of lipstick on his cheek.
|
He had a smudge of chalk on his jacket.
▪ smear a mark that is made by a small amount of something spread across a surface:
The table had a smear of paint on the top.
▪ fingerprint ( also fingermark British English ) a mark on the surface of something that is made by someone’s fingers:
The glass was covered with greasy fingerprints.
II. smear 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . SPREAD [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to spread a liquid or soft substance over a surface, especially in a careless or untidy way
smear something with something
His face was smeared with mud.
smear something on/over etc something
Elaine smeared suntan lotion on her shoulders.
2 . TELL LIES [transitive] to tell an untrue story about someone important in order to make people lose respect for them – used especially in newspapers:
an attempt to smear the party leadership
3 . DIRTY [transitive] to put dirty or oily marks on something:
smeared windows
4 . INK/PAINT [intransitive and transitive] if writing, a picture, or paint smears or is smeared, the ink or paint is accidentally touched and spread across the surface SYN smudge :
Several words were smeared.