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# smart

«smart» in Mova's school dictionary: **clever and quick to learn and understand** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (smart, smarter, smartest); verb (smart, smarts, smarted, smarting); noun (smarts — informal, cleverness)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Smart means clever and quick to learn and understand. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#m1)

2) Smart (especially in the UK, Ireland, Australia) means neat, tidy and well-dressed: a smart uniform. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#m2)

3) Smart describes a machine that uses a computer and the internet: a smartphone, a smart speaker. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#m3)

4) To smart means to sting or hurt sharply: my eyes smarted from the smoke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

At school: «smart» praise for clever thinking; a «smart» school uniform for photo day. In safety: «be smart online» — keep passwords private and do not talk to strangers. «Smart devices» are taught in computing lessons. In stories, «a smart answer» may also mean a rude, cheeky reply. Phrases: smart idea, look smart, smartphone, smart board, street smart, smart aleck.

### examples

- She is smart and solves puzzles quickly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x1)
- You look very smart in your new blazer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x2)
- That was a smart idea to bring an umbrella. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x3)
- Our classroom has a smart board. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x4)
- The smoke made my eyes smart. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x5)
- Be smart online and never share your address. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x6)
- Don't get smart with me, young man! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x7)
- Dad asked the smart speaker to play music. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x8)
- Wow, but it's a fine feeling to be so smart!" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/#x9)

### note

Adjective: smarter, smartest. American English uses «smart» mostly for clever; British, Irish and Australian English also use it often for neat and well-dressed. «Smart» as a cheeky reply («Don't be smart») is a telling-off. Being smart is not only being clever: hard work and asking questions count too.

### In the corpora

- [Asking a bot for practice questions is a smart way to revise, if they cover the right topics.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/11-school-rules-honesty-and-wrong-accusations/12/)
- [Many famous bands changed their names early on, and it is smart to check nobody else already uses a name.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/4-starting-a-band/5/)
- [Pigeons are smarter than they look: they can tell people's faces apart and remember who chased them and who fed them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/221-pigeons-head-bobbing-homing-and-city-cliffs/3/)
- [Badger does not mind table manners, because he «did not go into Society» (Society = smart, polite company).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/37-willows-ch4-part1-mr-badger/21/)
- [Toad: «Smart piece of work that! … Brain against brute force—and brain came out on the top».](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/16/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «smart» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/smart/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.
