/ smæʃ; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
BREAK
1.
to break sth, or to be broken, violently and noisily into many pieces :
[ vn ]
Several windows had been smashed.
He smashed the radio to pieces.
[ v ]
The glass bowl smashed into a thousand pieces.
HIT VERY HARD
2.
to move with a lot of force against sth solid; to make sth do this :
[ v + adv. / prep. ]
the sound of waves smashing against the rocks
The car smashed into a tree.
[ vn ]
Mark smashed his fist down on the desk.
➡ note at crash
3.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to hit sth very hard and break it, in order to get through it :
[ vn ]
They had to smash holes in the ice.
The elephant smashed its way through the trees.
[ vn - adj ]
We had to smash the door open.
[ v ]
They had smashed through a glass door to get in.
4.
[ vn ] to hit sth/sb very hard
SYN slam :
He smashed the ball into the goal.
DESTROY / DEFEAT
5.
[ vn ] to destroy, defeat or put an end to sth/sb :
Police say they have smashed a major drugs ring.
She has smashed the world record (= broken it by a large amount) .
CRASH VEHICLE
6.
[ vn ] smash sth (up) to crash a vehicle :
He's smashed (up) his new car.
➡ note at crash
IN TENNIS, etc.
7.
[ vn ] to hit a high ball downwards and very hard over the net
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- smash sth down
- smash sth in
- smash sth up
■ noun
ACT OF BREAKING
1.
[ sing. ] an act of breaking sth noisily into pieces; the sound this makes :
The cup hit the floor with a smash.
VEHICLE CRASH
2.
[ C ] ( BrE ) an accident in which a vehicle hits another vehicle :
a car smash
IN TENNIS, etc.
3.
[ C ] a way of hitting the ball downwards and very hard
SONG / MOVIE / PLAY
4.
(also ˌsmash ˈhit ) [ C ] a song, film / movie or play that is very popular :
her latest chart smash
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 18th cent. (as a noun): probably imitative, representing a blend of words such as smack , smite with bash , mash , etc.