How to Use smother in a Sentence

smother

1 of 2 verb
Definition of smothernext
Synonyms for smothernext
  • She smothered the fire with a blanket.
  • He tried to smother her with a pillow.
  • In the process, the Wildcats smothered Michigan with 54 points in the paint.
    — Justin Spears, The Arizona Republic, 10 Mar. 2022
  • Bet the under as the Bruins will smother the Ducks on the outside and keep the score low.
    — Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2023
  • Even a 1-inch layer of soil can be enough to smother roots.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 24 July 2022
  • In one case, the region is smothered in a blanket of snow.
    — oregonlive, 23 Feb. 2023
  • Now the earth is being smothered as fires rage across the planet.
    — David Shribman, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2023
  • The film consists of smothering close-ups of the lead actor, Geza Rohrig.
    — Giles Harvey, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023
  • Class broke through the line and smothered the ball for a Mission Hills first down at the Oceanside 45-yard line.
    — Rick Hoff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2023
  • This is not a deep and pure love — this is clutching and smothering.
    — Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2023
  • If a kitchen fire does start, first try to smother the flames with a pot lid or cookie sheet.
    — oregonlive, 2 Nov. 2021
  • Survivors of the Maui fire in Lahaina say they were overwhelmed by the speed of the blaze, the smothering smoke and the lack of escape routes.
    — Joshua Partlow, John Farrell, Brady Dennis, Brianna Sacks and Joanna Slater, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2023
  • The crispy side is smothered in the same poblano queso from the new menu item and topped with shredded cheddar cheese.
    — Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 25 Oct. 2023
  • The debris flow, as it’s called, smothered a grove of Douglas firs that were at least 100 years old.
    — Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Sarah has a pillow and is smothering a woman whom she’s caught in the bed.
    — Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 12 Feb. 2024
  • The oils smother the eggs and larvae of many insects and decrease problems down the line.
    — oregonlive, 17 Jan. 2022
  • Subtract is at war with the tendency to smother a record in the stuff most people would want to hear.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 May 2023
  • By this time, that same black cloud was starting to smother Lahaina.
    — Joshua Partlow, John Farrell, Brady Dennis, Brianna Sacks and Joanna Slater, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2023
  • If a small grease fire starts on the stovetop, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner.
    — Taylor Pettaway, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Nov. 2021
  • Rake most of them off the grass, because a matted layer of whole leaves can smother the grass plants.
    — Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2022
  • Its fish was muddy and, worse, it was smothered in tartar sauce.
    — Tim Carman, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
  • It is also designed to be oversized, but it’s cut in a way that doesn’t smother the body.
    — Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2023
  • The meals cast new light on her grandmother’s post-church smothered pork chops and cast-iron cornbread.
    — Kim Severson, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024
  • His crew opened fire on a nearby tree line as Cashe pulled the wounded from the wreckage, and others raced to smother the flames.
    — Dan Lamothe, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Dec. 2021
  • The goal in doing this is to smother the flames, so they are extinguished quickly.
    — oregonlive, 2 Nov. 2021
  • If quarterback Dak Prescott and the offense take care of the ball, the defense should smother Washington and keep the score within the spread.
    — New York Times, 23 Dec. 2021
  • To save bullets, children were sometimes pushed into the pile alive to be smothered and crushed.
    — Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Nov. 2023
  • NC State used full-court pressure to smother Butler's guards.
    — Akeem Glaspie, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Nov. 2022
  • The problem arises when they're piled too thick, which can smother your lawn and smaller garden plants.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2021
  • The red sauce that smothers Dario’s version of the dish is a strawberry jam, made with fresh strawberries and orange juice.
    — Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
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smother

2 of 2 noun
  • Then mulch with leaves and smother the new plants that might try to emerge.
    — Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 22 June 2023
  • To serve, place chips in a bowl smother with yogurt dip.
    — Pervaiz Shallwani, WSJ, 27 Jan. 2023
  • Smothers, who lived in the unit block of Osborne Road, was pronounced dead at the scene.
    — David Anderson, The Aegis, 25 Aug. 2017
  • They have been brainwashed to think that leaves smother lawns.
    — Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2020
  • Sauté slices with duck breast; add to a pork roast or smother apples and sauerkraut with some game sausages.
    — Kim Sunée, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Oct. 2020
  • At Dichos, the tortillas were fresh and didn't appear to be dipped, but rather topped with a smother of bean sauce.
    — Emma Balter, Chron, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Or serve it atop a freshly baked potato and smother with toppings like sour cream and jalapenos.
    — Audrey Bruno, SELF, 21 Nov. 2022
  • The 40-minute mindset, the smother-ous defense, the varied scoring options.
    — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 16 Mar. 2018
  • Will years of oak leaves accumulating on the soil smother Asian jasmine and keep its roots from grabbing the ground?
    — Neil Sperry, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Mar. 2021
  • His size and strength help impede the early stages of a route and smother possession throws underneath.
    — Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2023
  • The Ave Maria, the gospel choir, the smell of chrysanthemums in a church, the shiva basket, the repast, the wake, the stories, songs, tears and the hugs that smother kids in Auntie’s organza dress and magnolia perfume.
    — Washington Post, 24 Sep. 2020
  • All of these items promised to ward off, murder, smother or otherwise expunge my pest problem.
    — Jessica Roy, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2021
  • The invasive species smothers native plants and serves as tinder for wildfires in a state already ravaged by blazes.
    — Julie Watson, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2023
  • Feel free to add more cabbage to smother in the gravy; the recipe will accommodate as much as double without increasing the amount of tomato.
    — Jim Webster, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2023
  • Algae clump on the surface in smelly mats, smother native aquatic vegetation with slime or grow along the bottom in hairy, green strands.
    — Cynthia Barnett, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2015
  • The brew of exotics has unleashed noxious algae outbreaks that smother beaches in foot-deep goo that looks like creamed spinach and smells like the bowels of a porta potty.
    — jsonline.com, 30 Aug. 2021
  • Mazda's all-wheel-drive system is quick to smother wheelspin, but a hard launch can elicit a tortured bark from the front tires before the system diverts torque rearward.
    — Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 20 Nov. 2020
  • So all Mack did was use his comic book power and explosion to blow past Fulton and smother quarterback Deshaun Watson in the end zone.
    — Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, 13 Dec. 2020
  • Big Red's has nine hot sauces and two smother sauces — blackberry rum and AZ Jerk, which are a pretty rad upgrade to typical barbecue sauces.
    — Felicia Campbell, The Arizona Republic, 1 July 2022
  • Scientists say the technique could help officials trace and smother outbreaks, and could shed light on the origins of the nation’s most high-profile coronavirus cluster: the outbreak at the White House.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 14 Oct. 2020
  • Neither of these selections are for those who shy away from spice, however, the intense heat managed to highlight, rather than smother, the pork and the shrimp – an impressive feat, given the level of heat.
    — Dahlia Ghabour, The Courier-Journal, 7 Aug. 2021
  • Spain then had Simon to thank for keeping them in the game, with the goalkeeper coming out quickly to smother substitute Domenico Berardi's effort.
    — Matias Grez, CNN, 6 July 2021
  • Pittsburgh’s smother-ous, Big Brother-ous encore crushing of Cincinnati Sunday was a speed bump in the supermarket parking lot.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 16 Nov. 2020
  • This allows the control-arm suspensions to smother potholes, leaving the ride uncannily smooth.
    — Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 24 Nov. 2020
  • They have also been identified in firefighting foams that are designed to quickly smother liquid fuel fires.
    — Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2023
  • That raises risks that oil and other pollutants will leak into the ocean and travel to shore and smother wetlands, particularly sensitive salt marshes along the northern Gulf Coast.
    — Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, 8 May 2023
  • Excessive moisture smothers and kills roots, leading to discolored and dying foliage.
    — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, 20 Oct. 2017
  • And Beverly's going to be that overbearing smother turned into an overbearing grandsmother.
    — Gerrad Hall, EW.com, 30 Aug. 2022
  • When wildfire smoke smothers US cities and communities, suddenly creating a hazardous air quality event, workers like Leichenger say they’re left gasping for help to keep doing their jobs.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN, 10 June 2023
  • Several players stepped forward to smother Sacramento on Sunday.
    — Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smother.' 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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