From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsmacksmack1 /smæk/ verb [transitive] 1 HITto hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them → slap the debate about whether parents should smack their children► see thesaurus at hit2 HIT[always + adverb/preposition] to hit something hard against something else so that it makes a short loud noise He smacked the money down on the table and walked out.3 → smack your lips4 British English informalHIT to hit someone hard with your closed hand SYN punch → smack of something → smack somebody up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
smack• Three years ago, you smacked a girl around and people maybe said she asked for it.• He decided to smack her for this.• He stepped out, and the cold from a recent snow flurry smacked him hard in the face.• The cop beside him smacked him on the arm.• He threw a curveball down, and the batter smacked it dead on.• Father spun round, took three steps towards me and smacked me on the ear.• But surely this smacks of charity; well-meaning but in many cases misguided.• It smacks of yellow journalism...• The first task is to smack the ball up the ramp and enter the rollercoaster ride.smacksmack2 noun 1 [countable] a) HITa hit with your open hand, especially to punish a child → slap You’re going to get a smack in a minute! b) British English informalHIT a hard hit with your closed hand SYN punchsmack in the mouth/face/gob Talk like that and I’ll give you a smack in the mouth.2 [countable usually singular]SOUND a short loud noise caused when something hits something else The book landed with a smack.3 [uncountable] informalMDD heroin4 → give somebody a smack on the lips/cheek5 [countable]TTW a small fishing boatExamples from the Corpus
smack• She gave Danny's hand a smack.• If the horse jumps the first fence stickily, a smack on landing will sharpen him up.• Then she raised one foot and brought it down with a smack on the water, splashing him, and laughed.• All you see in the papers now is smack, like.• The little girl gets pulled again, falls with a loud smack.• The occasional smack meted out in a happy, secure home is not going to scar a child's psyche.• So far, she'd just flushed the smack down the loo and shoved the syringes in the bin.• Authoritarians do not apologize for the smack of firm government.smack in the mouth/face/gob• Once again, she hadn't seen it coming; another smack in the face from an unexpected source.• Steve looked as if he'd been smacked in the face with a writ.• Once Williams was smacked in the face by a throw in an international game, breaking her nose.smacksmack3 adverb informal 1 EXACTexactly or directly in the middle of something, in front of something etcsmack in the middle/in front of something etc There was a hole smack in the middle of the floor.smack bang British English, smack dab American English It’s smack dab in the middle of an earthquake zone.2 HIT/BUMP INTOif something goes smack into something, it hits it with a lot of force The car ran smack into the side of the bus.Examples from the Corpus
smack• It came to rest smack against the mountain two miles west of Morrisonville.• Some were smack in the middle of neighborhoods.• I was smack in the middle of this interesting war.• I ran smack into it on Thursday.• I drove smack into the side of the garage.Origin smack1 (1400-1500) Perhaps from Middle Dutch smacken “to hit”. smack of (1300-1400) From smack “taste” ((11-21 centuries)), from Old English smæc smack2 1. (1500-1600) → SMACK12. (1900-2000) Perhaps from Yiddish shmek “sniff, slight smell, small mount of snuff”3. (1600-1700) Dutch smak 