Link Centre Dictionary

smudge

UK/smʌd͡ʒ/ US/ˈsmʌdʒ/ uncommon uk us
noun (2) verb (1)

noun

1.

a smoky fire to drive away insects

2.

a blemish made by dirt

  • “he had a smudge on his cheek”
Synonyms

verb

1.

make a smudge on; soil by smudging

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English *smogen (attested in the gerund smogynge (“soiling, smudging”)), of obscure origin. Compare Middle English besmudded, bismuddet (“filthy”), Middle English smod (“filth, obscene behaviour”), Middle Dutch smoddich (“filthy, dirty”), German schmutzig (“dirty, filthy”).

Phrases

  • onion smudge
  • smudge attack
  • smudge cell
  • smudge pot

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.