From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsmearsmear1 /smɪə $ smɪr/ noun [countable] 1 MARKa dirty mark made by a small amount of something spread across a surfacesmear of a smear of paint It left a black smear on his arm.► see thesaurus at mark2 MH British English a smear test3 BLAMEan 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
Examples from the Corpus
smear• Just a smear of protoplasm, another speck on the biological scrap heap.• I slid off the seat, keeping my eyes down, expecting to see a smear of red blood on the chair.• The hideous blood smear on the window was a running crimson blur in the rain.• There was a bright moon and on looking closer I saw a dark smear coming from his mouth.• Wasn't there a dark smear on the doorknob of the long room?• A slightly sinister element is that neither side is producing its smears.• There were paint smears visible on the doorknob.• At what age should a woman begin having an annual Pap smear?• He looked at the thin smear of my blood on his palm, and wrapped a small black towel around my hand.smearsmear2 verb 1 spread [transitive always + adverb/preposition]SPREAD to spread a liquid or soft substance over a surface, especially in a careless or untidy waysmear 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]LIE/TELL A LIE 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 leadership3 dirty [transitive]DIRTY to put dirty or oily marks on something smeared windows4 ink/paint [intransitive, 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.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
smear• I knew Deanna had been crying because her makeup had smeared.• The printing wasn't dark enough, and many letters were smeared around the edges.• People from the neighborhood rushed in and threw the place up for grabs, smearing excrement on the walls.• However, Dimitrov claimed that Asparukhov's allegations were part of a Zhelev-inspired effort to smear him and his government.• Carter refused to take part in an attempt to smear his campaign opponent.• I looked down the street and I saw an entirely naked man walking along, smeared in ash.• Young researchers take a drop of blood, smear it on a slide, stain it and check it under the microscope.• Detective Jake Gittes, tricked by Cross into smearing Mulwray, does not escape the compulsion to repeat.• "What time did we say we'd meet them?" she asked, smearing on a bright red lipstick.• It smeared the faces of the men in the room, fighting a losing, fitful battle with the shadows.• The rain had dribbled on his glasses and smeared them.• Before setting out on their walk, they smeared themselves with sunblock.smear something with something• Halle's face was smeared with butter.From Longman Business Dictionarysmearsmear /smɪəsmɪr/ noun [countable] an attempt to harm someone by spreading untrue stories about themWas this just another political smear?The media had launched a smear campaign against him. —smear verb [transitive]Republicans were trying to smear the President.Origin smear1 Old English smeoru “fatty material” 