Читаем Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

smat|ter|ing /smæ tər I ŋ/ N‑SING [usu a N of n] A smattering of something is a very small amount of it. □ [+ of ] I had acquired a smattering of Greek.

smear /sm I ə ^r / (smears , smearing , smeared )

1 VERB If you smear a surface with an oily or sticky substance or smear the substance onto the surface, you spread a layer of the substance over the surface. □ [V n + with ] My sister smeared herself with suntan oil and slept by the swimming pool. □ [V n prep] Smear a little olive oil over the inside of the salad bowl.

2 N‑COUNT A smear is a dirty or oily mark. □ [+ of ] There was a smear of gravy on his chin.

3 VERB To smear someone means to spread unpleasant and untrue rumours or accusations about them in order to damage their reputation. [JOURNALISM ] □ [V n] …an attempt to smear the Director-General of the BBC.

4 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A smear is an unpleasant and untrue rumour or accusation that is intended to damage someone's reputation. [JOURNALISM ] □  He puts all the accusations down to a smear campaign by his political opponents.

5 N‑COUNT A smear or a smear test is a medical test in which a few cells are taken from a woman's cervix and examined to see if any cancer cells are present. [BRIT ] in AM, use pap smear , pap test

smeared /sm I ə ^r d/ ADJ If something is smeared , it has dirty or oily marks on it. □ [+ with ] The other child's face was smeared with dirt.

smell ◆◇◇ /sme l/ (smells , smelling , smelled , smelt ) American English usually uses the form smelled as the past tense and past participle. British English uses either smelled or smelt . 1 N‑COUNT The smell of something is a quality it has which you become aware of when you breathe in through your nose. □ [+ of ] …the smell of freshly baked bread. □  …horrible smells.

2 N‑UNCOUNT Your sense of smell is the ability that your nose has to detect things. □  …people who lose their sense of smell.

3 V‑LINK If something smells in a particular way, it has a quality which you become aware of through your nose. □ [V + of ] The room smelled of lemons. □ [V adj] It smells delicious. □ [V + like ] …a crumbly black substance that smells like fresh soil. [Also V as if]

4 VERB If you say that something smells , you mean that it smells unpleasant. □ [V ] Ma threw that out. She said it smelled. □ [V ] Do my feet smell?

5 VERB If you smell something, you become aware of it when you breathe in through your nose. □ [V n] As soon as we opened the front door we could smell the gas.

6 VERB If you smell something, you put your nose near it and breathe in, so that you can discover its smell. □ [V n] I took a fresh rose out of the vase on our table, and smelled it.

7to smell a rat → see rat

-smelling /-smel I ŋ/ COMB -smelling combines with adjectives to form adjectives which indicate how something smells. □  …sweet-smelling dried flowers. □  The city is covered by a foul-smelling cloud of smoke.

sme ll|ing salts N‑PLURAL A bottle of smelling salts contains a chemical with a strong smell which is used to help someone recover after they have fainted.

smelly /sme li/ (smellier , smelliest ) ADJ Something that is smelly has an unpleasant smell. □  He had extremely smelly feet.

smelt /sme lt/ (smelts , smelting , smelted )

1Smelt is a past tense and past participle of smell . [mainly BRIT ]

2 VERB To smelt a substance containing metal means to process it by heating it until it melts, so that the metal is extracted and changed chemically. □ [V n] Darby improved iron by smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.

smel|ter /sme ltə ^r / (smelters ) N‑COUNT A smelter is a container for smelting metal.