- (especially British English) (of people) looking clean and neat; well dressed in fashionable and/or formal clothes
- I have to be smart for work.
- You look very smart in that suit.
- She was incredibly smart in navy blue silk.
- (especially British English) (of clothes, etc.) clean, neat and looking new and attractive
- a smart suit
- They were wearing their smartest clothes.
Extra ExamplesTopics Clothes and Fashionb1- She was wearing a smart red coat.
- They wear smart blue uniforms.
- smart new shoes
- The car was a smart two-seater.
- The restaurant has a smart new décor.
- (especially North American English) intelligent
- He is obviously a smart guy.
- Why do smart people do such stupid things?
- She's smarter than her brother.
- That was a smart career move.
- OK, I admit it was not the smartest thing I ever did (= it was a stupid thing to do)
- He is too ambitious, too smart for his own good.
- it is smart to do something It's always smart to have a Plan B.
Synonyms intelligentintelligentsmart ▪ clever ▪ brilliant ▪ brightThese words all describe people who are good at learning, understanding and thinking about things, and the actions that show this ability.intelligent good at learning, understanding and thinking in a logical way about things; showing this ability: He’s a highly intelligent man.She asked a lot of intelligent questions.smart (especially North American English) quick at learning and understanding things; showing the ability to make good business or personal decisions: She’s smarter than her brother.That was a smart career move.clever (sometimes disapproving, especially British English) quick at learning and understanding things; showing this ability: How clever of you to work it out!He’s too clever by half, if you ask me. People use clever in the phrase : Clever boy/girl! to tell a young child that they have learnt or done something well. When used to or about an adult clever can be disapproving.brilliant extremely intelligent or showing a lot of skill: He’s a brilliant young scientist.bright intelligent; quick to learn: She’s probably the brightest student in the class. Bright is used especially to talk about young people. Common collocations of bright include girl, boy, kid, student, pupil.Patternssee also smarts- clever/brilliant at something
- a(n) intelligent/smart/clever/brilliant/bright child/boy/girl/man/woman
- a(n) intelligent/smart/clever/brilliant thing to do
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesb1- She's smart enough to know what works and what doesn't.
- If you're smart, you'll take my advice.
- Companies are getting smart about how they use corporate planes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- (of a device) controlled by a computer, so that it appears to act in an intelligent way
- smart bombs
- This smart washing machine will dispense an optimal amount of water for the load.
- connected with fashionable, rich people
- smart restaurants
- She mixes with the smart set (= fashionable, rich people).
Extra Examples- She was one of the smart set in the 1920s.
- The reception would be very grand and smart.
- (of a movement, etc.) quick and usually done with force synonym brisk
- He was struck with a smart crack on the head.
- We set off at a smart pace.
clean/neat
intelligent
computer-controlled
fashionable
quick
Word OriginOld English smeortan (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to German schmerzen; the adjective is related to the verb, the original sense (late Old English) being ‘causing sharp pain’; from this arose ‘keen, brisk’, which led to the current senses of ‘mentally sharp’ and ‘neat in a brisk, sharp style’.
Check pronunciation:
smart