How to Use smart in a Sentence

smart

1 of 3 adjective
Definition of smartnext
Synonyms for smartnext
  • Poodles are said to be smart dogs.
  • He gave her a smart answer.
  • That was a smart investment.
  • That's true about the smartest people in the world, right?
    — Brian Resnick, Vox, 8 June 2018
  • Maybe youse are smart enough to know what the hell that means.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2022
  • Some of the polling shows the strategy is a smart play.
    — al, 17 July 2022
  • To be sure, the promise of the smart garden is not new.
    — Mandy Behbehani, SFChronicle.com, 3 July 2020
  • Dress smart and bring the right tools and equipment with you.
    — Kristi Eaton, Chron, 12 Nov. 2021
  • Gascón is smart enough not to let words come back to haunt him.
    — Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2022
  • Most of us are smart enough not to try to control the weather.
    — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 24 Apr. 2021
  • The show is smart enough to get away with baring its teeth more.
    — Jen Chaney, Vulture, 5 May 2021
  • The Browns will be smart with all of them to get them to the season healthy.
    — cleveland, 4 July 2021
  • But what is so smart about a whip, and why should punch be pleased?
    — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2022
  • The younger brother was smart enough not to mess with a jilted lover.
    — Nick Hoppe, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 2018
  • So dumb guys go for dumb girls, and smart guys go for dumb girls?
    — Sauleha Kamal, The Atlantic, 12 June 2018
  • But this league has a lot of smart people and a lot of great players.
    — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 16 Sep. 2019
  • And is Reggie even smart enough to pull all of this off?
    — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 24 Jan. 2019
  • Walter was too smart, and the ship was full of dumbbells.
    — New York Times, 23 Dec. 2020
  • But Swift is smart enough to let her fans in on that, too.
    — Andy Hermann, Los Angeles Magazine, 21 May 2018
  • And that's a very smart way to protect your health, for now and in the future.
    — Lisa Bain, Good Housekeeping, 28 Apr. 2023
  • This was smart, and the Jazz did struggle with it at first.
    — Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Mar. 2021
  • With that in mind, here are six savvy steps to invite right and host smart.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2020
  • Maybe a half marathon on pavement wasn’t that smart of an idea?
    — Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 26 Sep. 2022
  • There's a lot of smart people that are trying to work it out.
    — The Courier-Journal, 20 July 2022
  • Cassie: Did your smart home keep turning the lights on?
    — Quartz Staff, Quartz, 2 May 2023
  • That voice was warm but sly, smart, and never cliquish.
    — John Rasmus, Outside Online, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Their work is smart as hell, but not afraid to laugh at itself.
    — Jason Farago, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2020
  • Trouble is most looters are smart enough to wear a mask.
    — cleveland, 14 June 2020
  • Those who have met the pair describe them as smart and friendly.
    — Scott Morris, ProPublica, 30 June 2010
  • This is where home team pride and smart programming come in.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 9 Apr. 2022
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smart

2 of 3 verb
  • Her eyes were smarting from the smoke.
  • My hands smarted from grabbing a branch bristling with sharp spines.
    — National Geographic, 1 Oct. 2019
  • But Lyons, who was still smarting from the April e-mail, had had enough.
    — Frank Phillips, BostonGlobe.com, 28 June 2018
  • Fear sharpened her wits, and the world shifted into focus as the smarting in her eyes faded.
    — David Canfield, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2019
  • Bogle was warned against the dangers of allocating money to smart beta funds.
    — Bloomberg.com, 12 June 2017
  • Some, smarting from recent layoffs and pay cuts, felt the company was asking even more of them.
    — Mike Rogoway | Mrogoway@oregonian.com, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The highs here work because the MCU is a monument to smart casting; there’s warmth amid the chill.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2022
  • Democrats are still smarting from their January beat-down.
    — Chad Pergram, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2018
  • The opposition, still smarting at its ejection from office, will pounce at the first sign of failure.
    — The Economist, 12 June 2019
  • Pitchers tossed underhand and no one wore gloves yet, resulting in smarting pain in the hands of catchers and first basemen.
    — Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Nothing smarts quite like a sunburn, so use an ocean-friendly sunscreen that'll save your skin and protect the creatures in the water.
    — Scottie Andrew, CNN, 29 Aug. 2019
  • Losing can lead to winning, which eventually leads to smart and planned losing, which leads to winning again.
    — Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com, 17 July 2017
  • The first of their bunch, not a few of them Southerners smarting from the Civil War, took on the task of erasing what the earth had been.
    — Mark Arax, New York Times, 1 June 2023
  • Upgrade to smart home lighting with this starter kit, which includes four white and colour ambient bulbs and a Hue home hub to voice control your lights.
    — Fiona Tapp, CNN Underscored, 13 Oct. 2020
  • Both parties are smarting from the general election results.
    — The Economist, 9 Jan. 2020
  • Lowe's: Hundreds of Cyber Week deals, from appliances and tools to smart home and bath.
    — Staff, CNN Underscored, 1 Dec. 2019
  • Prime Day is one of the best times to snag steep discounts on tech products, from streaming devices to smart gadgets to wearable accessories.
    — Alex Warner, PEOPLE.com, 22 June 2021
  • Options range from simple bulbs that slot into regular fixtures to smart light strips that can be installed in unlikely spots.
    — Simon Hill, Wired, 15 Apr. 2021
  • Fans of the women’s team are still smarting over Trump’s earlier treatment of Rapinoe.
    — Ephrat Livni, Quartzy, 7 July 2019
  • Why would smart people follow their leaders in unknown, possibly risky terrain, when even those leaders are unsure about the smartest way ahead?
    — Jean-Francois Cousin, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Back in the Norchester neighborhood, Daniel Rawson was smarting at his bad bet.
    — Valerie Bauerlein, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2017
  • Jose Mourinho was left smarting after his biggest league defeat in almost six years.
    — SI.com, 24 Feb. 2018
  • Until then, Bloom, still smarting over recent events, had been cautious in her public statements.
    — Bryan Smith, Los Angeles Magazine, 8 June 2018
  • From Apple’s AirTags to smart home equipment, keep your family and friends up to date with the latest and greatest.
    — Madeline Fass, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Elodie is clearly still smarting from the rejection, especially since Zoey picked someone else to be her girlfriend.
    — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 15 June 2019
  • New York City at the time was still smarting from a brush with bankruptcy, and the scrappy red-headed orphan was a welcome symbol of resilience.
    — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 19 June 2023
  • Europe and Asia are still smarting over the U.S. having beaten them to the 4G finish line.
    — Robert M. McDowell, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2018
  • That leaves Jimmy Fallon, still smarting from his Trump hair mussing, out in the Emmys cold.
    — Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 12 July 2018
  • But the crackdown also left thousands of peaceful protesters choking on tear gas and many others smarting from pepper spray or injured by rubber bullets.
    — Mike Ives, BostonGlobe.com, 14 June 2019
  • Martinez was left shaking his head, just like Hernández, who was still smarting a week after Judge’s home run robbery.
    — Scott Miller, New York Times, 13 July 2023
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smart

3 of 3 noun
  • Will Trump have the smarts and guts to do the right thing?
    — Trudy Rubin, Philly.com, 12 Aug. 2017
  • Europe has the smarts and the wealth and the market to be a tech leader.
    — Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 22 Nov. 2019
  • Some of the smarts in the Siemens building are there for the workers.
    — The Economist, 12 Sep. 2019
  • This little home hids its smarts in the most clever way.
    — Nena Farrell, Sunset, 22 Jan. 2018
  • Language may be one of the best ways to demonstrate that kind of smarts.
    — Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Popular Science, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The junior walk-on guard is the guy teammates said is the most book-smart on the team.
    — Fletcher Page, The Courier-Journal, 30 Oct. 2017
  • Just try to use my smarts or a pump fake or double clutch.
    — Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 31 Jan. 2018
  • Stick tap for the Knights’ discipline and smarts on and off the ice.
    — Steve Rosenbloom, chicagotribune.com, 21 May 2018
  • That means games will be won on skill and smarts rather than surprise.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 29 May 2018
  • She was wowed by his sweetness and his smarts, and by the setting.
    — Vance Muse, Houston Chronicle, 14 June 2019
  • It’s packed full of smarts, as well as being a fount of worthwhile clicks.
    — Chris Stanford, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2020
  • His looks got him work as a male model and his smarts helped him beat the odds at the local casinos.
    — CBS News, 10 Feb. 2018
  • Given that, the police should probably have had the smarts to back off.
    — Leor Galil, Chicago Reader, 23 Feb. 2018
  • Software, not hardware, is the source of speaker smarts.
    — Joanna Stern, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2017
  • But crows aren’t the only birds who have some serious smarts.
    — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 31 Dec. 2019
  • Crawford wins the fight and the argument with his quicksilver skillset and durable smarts.
    — Manouk Akopyan, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2023
  • That might be premature, as Tunisia has the smarts to slow the tempo of the game and cause trouble.
    — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, 7 June 2018
  • Growing up in the big city also made Nancy tough and street-smart.
    — Juan Ortega, www.feloniousflorida.com, 24 Apr. 2018
  • The Chiefs, at least from my view, have handled this with smarts and planning.
    — Sam Mellinger, kansascity, 30 Jan. 2018
  • And to have the presence of mind and the soccer smarts to make that play there ... very, very, very impressive.
    — Grant Wahl and Brian Straus, SI.com, 2 July 2018
  • That’ll mean playing smart based on field position and clock.
    — Albert Breer, SI.com, 2 Nov. 2017
  • The women use their power over men, and their smarts, to fulfill both needs and desires.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 12 Sep. 2019
  • In fact, some of the smarts here are built into an app: the Google Search app used for the settings.
    — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2017
  • Smart cars, smart homes, smart clothing—a whole lotta smart.
    — David Guston, Slate Magazine, 17 Oct. 2017
  • Read how the pop star’s net worth has soared through touring, album sales and business smarts.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2023
  • New York smart tells us that this situation and moment are not about the facts.
    — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2021
  • Every red-blooded male wants to be the only macho man on site with the strength or the smarts to get the lid off a pickle jar.
    — Jon Fobes, cleveland.com, 19 Oct. 2017
  • Her smarts, wit and sense of humor will always be with anyone who knew Deb.
    — courant.com, 26 Nov. 2019
  • This demands a little bit more than combining smarts with speed.
    — Luke Johnson, nola.com, 28 June 2019
  • The combination of his smarts and stickwork enabled him to make plays with good vision and a hard shot.
    — Glenn Graham, baltimoresun.com, 4 July 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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