How to Use smart in a Sentence

smart

1 of 3 adjective
  • Poodles are said to be smart dogs.
  • He gave her a smart answer.
  • That was a smart investment.
  • That's true about the smartest people in the world, right?
    Brian Resnick, Vox, 8 June 2018
  • Maybe youse are smart enough to know what the hell that means.
    Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2022
  • Some of the polling shows the strategy is a smart play.
    al, 17 July 2022
  • The Browns will be smart with all of them to get them to the season healthy.
    cleveland, 4 July 2021
  • To be sure, the promise of the smart garden is not new.
    Mandy Behbehani, SFChronicle.com, 3 July 2020
  • Dress smart and bring the right tools and equipment with you.
    Kristi Eaton, Chron, 12 Nov. 2021
  • But Swift is smart enough to let her fans in on that, too.
    Andy Hermann, Los Angeles Magazine, 21 May 2018
  • Gascón is smart enough not to let words come back to haunt him.
    Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2022
  • This was smart, and the Jazz did struggle with it at first.
    Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Mar. 2021
  • And is Reggie even smart enough to pull all of this off?
    Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 24 Jan. 2019
  • But what is so smart about a whip, and why should punch be pleased?
    Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2022
  • And that's a very smart way to protect your health, for now and in the future.
    Lisa Bain, Good Housekeeping, 28 Apr. 2023
  • Cassie: Did your smart home keep turning the lights on?
    Quartz Staff, Quartz, 2 May 2023
  • Most of us are smart enough not to try to control the weather.
    Terry Pluto, cleveland, 24 Apr. 2021
  • The show is smart enough to get away with baring its teeth more.
    Jen Chaney, Vulture, 5 May 2021
  • So dumb guys go for dumb girls, and smart guys go for dumb girls?
    Sauleha Kamal, The Atlantic, 12 June 2018
  • Light-wash jeans are a smart choice for spring and summer.
    Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 18 Feb. 2024
  • This is just one of the many smart investments Nas has made over the years.
    Jasmine Browley, Essence, 10 Mar. 2024
  • Walter was too smart, and the ship was full of dumbbells.
    New York Times, 23 Dec. 2020
  • The younger brother was smart enough not to mess with a jilted lover.
    Nick Hoppe, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 2018
  • But this league has a lot of smart people and a lot of great players.
    Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 16 Sep. 2019
  • With that in mind, here are six savvy steps to invite right and host smart.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2020
  • Joe Biden said poor kids can be just as smart as white kids.
    Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2020
  • Oh, my God, that is so smart of them to figure that out.
    Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2022
  • That voice was warm but sly, smart, and never cliquish.
    John Rasmus, Outside Online, 11 Jan. 2022
  • Tall, skinny, too smart for his own good, and dumb as a bag of rocks at the same time.
    Louis Casiano, Fox News, 16 June 2023
  • Maybe a half marathon on pavement wasn’t that smart of an idea?
    Brendan Leonard, Outside Online, 26 Sep. 2022
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smart

2 of 3 verb
  • Her eyes were smarting from the smoke.
  • But Lyons, who was still smarting from the April e-mail, had had enough.
    Frank Phillips, BostonGlobe.com, 28 June 2018
  • The highs here work because the MCU is a monument to smart casting; there’s warmth amid the chill.
    Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2022
  • My hands smarted from grabbing a branch bristling with sharp spines.
    National Geographic, 1 Oct. 2019
  • The first of their bunch, not a few of them Southerners smarting from the Civil War, took on the task of erasing what the earth had been.
    Mark Arax, New York Times, 1 June 2023
  • Europe and Asia are still smarting over the U.S. having beaten them to the 4G finish line.
    Robert M. McDowell, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2018
  • Lowe's: Hundreds of Cyber Week deals, from appliances and tools to smart home and bath.
    Staff, CNN Underscored, 1 Dec. 2019
  • From Apple’s AirTags to smart home equipment, keep your family and friends up to date with the latest and greatest.
    Madeline Fass, Vogue, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Dax stays on the sidelines coaching, still smarting from a wicked block laid down by his rival, Mookie (an off-the-wall Nick Kroll), as a youth.
    Katie Walsh, kansascity, 28 June 2018
  • Dax stays on the sidelines, coaching, still smarting from a wicked block laid down by his rival, Mookie (an off-the-wall Nick Kroll), as a youth.
    Katie Walsh, latimes.com, 28 June 2018
  • Fear sharpened her wits, and the world shifted into focus as the smarting in her eyes faded.
    David Canfield, EW.com, 17 Oct. 2019
  • There also is an aging generation of fans here still smarting from the way the New York Jets and Mets broke their hearts in 1969.
    Peter Schmuck, baltimoresun.com, 18 July 2019
  • That leaves Jimmy Fallon, still smarting from his Trump hair mussing, out in the Emmys cold.
    Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 12 July 2018
  • For those of us still smarting over the local team shipping a certain someone to the Yanks after the 1919 season, there’s that tiny bit of solace.
    Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 13 May 2023
  • Back in the Norchester neighborhood, Daniel Rawson was smarting at his bad bet.
    Valerie Bauerlein, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2017
  • Nothing smarts quite like a sunburn, so use an ocean-friendly sunscreen that'll save your skin and protect the creatures in the water.
    Scottie Andrew, CNN, 29 Aug. 2019
  • Some, smarting from recent layoffs and pay cuts, felt the company was asking even more of them.
    Mike Rogoway | Mrogoway@oregonian.com, oregonlive, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Democrats are still smarting from their January beat-down.
    Chad Pergram, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Fans of the women’s team are still smarting over Trump’s earlier treatment of Rapinoe.
    Ephrat Livni, Quartzy, 7 July 2019
  • By the time Lauer was fired last year, NBC was already smarting from a series of missteps that have put it on the wrong end of some of the nation's biggest news stories.
    Sarah Ellison, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Dec. 2012
  • Bogle was warned against the dangers of allocating money to smart beta funds.
    Bloomberg.com, 12 June 2017
  • The opposition, still smarting at its ejection from office, will pounce at the first sign of failure.
    The Economist, 12 June 2019
  • Upgrade to smart home lighting with this starter kit, which includes four white and colour ambient bulbs and a Hue home hub to voice control your lights.
    Fiona Tapp, CNN Underscored, 13 Oct. 2020
  • But the real focus of the first few episodes is Bear, who has spent so much of the show smarting at being left behind — by his father, by Elora, by Daniel.
    Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2023
  • Atlantic, still smarting from last week’s opening loss to Palm Beach Central, responded with a pair of touchdown drives to take a 14-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.
    Sun-Sentinel.com, 3 Sep. 2017
  • With one out and the Tribe smarting under a two-hit diet, pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell dropped a single into rightfield.
    Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 10 Aug. 2019
  • Nest Hello Nest has a new doorbell--the Nest Hello ($229)--which pairs with its security system and smart lock [link to smart lock slideshow here!].
    Nena Farrell, Sunset, 22 Jan. 2018
  • Pitchers tossed underhand and no one wore gloves yet, resulting in smarting pain in the hands of catchers and first basemen.
    Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Prime Day is one of the best times to snag steep discounts on tech products, from streaming devices to smart gadgets to wearable accessories.
    Alex Warner, PEOPLE.com, 22 June 2021
  • Losing can lead to winning, which eventually leads to smart and planned losing, which leads to winning again.
    Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com, 17 July 2017
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smart

3 of 3 noun
  • Will Trump have the smarts and guts to do the right thing?
    Trudy Rubin, Philly.com, 12 Aug. 2017
  • Some of the smarts in the Siemens building are there for the workers.
    The Economist, 12 Sep. 2019
  • Stick tap for the Knights’ discipline and smarts on and off the ice.
    Steve Rosenbloom, chicagotribune.com, 21 May 2018
  • Europe has the smarts and the wealth and the market to be a tech leader.
    Adam Lashinsky, Fortune, 22 Nov. 2019
  • The junior walk-on guard is the guy teammates said is the most book-smart on the team.
    Fletcher Page, The Courier-Journal, 30 Oct. 2017
  • This little home hids its smarts in the most clever way.
    Nena Farrell, Sunset, 22 Jan. 2018
  • Language may be one of the best ways to demonstrate that kind of smarts.
    Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Popular Science, 14 Sep. 2023
  • In fact, some of the smarts here are built into an app: the Google Search app used for the settings.
    Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2017
  • She was wowed by his sweetness and his smarts, and by the setting.
    Vance Muse, Houston Chronicle, 14 June 2019
  • Just try to use my smarts or a pump fake or double clutch.
    Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 31 Jan. 2018
  • That means games will be won on skill and smarts rather than surprise.
    Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 29 May 2018
  • It’s packed full of smarts, as well as being a fount of worthwhile clicks.
    Chris Stanford, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2020
  • The Chiefs, at least from my view, have handled this with smarts and planning.
    Sam Mellinger, kansascity, 30 Jan. 2018
  • That might be premature, as Tunisia has the smarts to slow the tempo of the game and cause trouble.
    Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, 7 June 2018
  • But how many of them have the drive, the smarts, the chutzpah — and the talent — to turn into a Barbara Stanwyck?
    Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2019
  • Yeoh played one of the most powerful Bond women, an equal to 007 in terms of smarts and strength.
    Dan Heching, CNN, 10 Mar. 2023
  • And to have the presence of mind and the soccer smarts to make that play there ... very, very, very impressive.
    Grant Wahl and Brian Straus, SI.com, 2 July 2018
  • Growing up in the big city also made Nancy tough and street-smart.
    Juan Ortega, www.feloniousflorida.com, 24 Apr. 2018
  • His looks got him work as a male model and his smarts helped him beat the odds at the local casinos.
    CBS News, 10 Feb. 2018
  • These films aspired to Peele’s Get Out but lacked its humor and its smarts.
    Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2023
  • Software, not hardware, is the source of speaker smarts.
    Joanna Stern, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2017
  • Google’s Chromecast can help bring smarts and streaming to your TV.
    Alexandria Haslam, PCWorld, 12 Sep. 2018
  • Given that, the police should probably have had the smarts to back off.
    Leor Galil, Chicago Reader, 23 Feb. 2018
  • Now Google is offering its smarts and a small (to Google) chunk of change to begin to atone for its sins.
    Robert Hackett, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2018
  • Smart cars, smart homes, smart clothing—a whole lotta smart.
    David Guston, Slate Magazine, 17 Oct. 2017
  • But crows aren’t the only birds who have some serious smarts.
    Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 31 Dec. 2019
  • Read how the pop star’s net worth has soared through touring, album sales and business smarts.
    Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2023
  • The women use their power over men, and their smarts, to fulfill both needs and desires.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 12 Sep. 2019
  • But Donald Trump didn’t come up with those smarts himself.
    Andrea Bernstein, ProPublica, 22 Jan. 2020
  • Her smarts, wit and sense of humor will always be with anyone who knew Deb.
    courant.com, 26 Nov. 2019

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