What does "smother" mean?
Smother: To affect as by suffocation; to stife; to deprive of air by a thick covering, as of ashes, of smoke, or the like; as, to smother a fire.
Additional senses
- 2.Hence, to repress the action of; to cover from public view; to suppress; to conceal; as, to smother one's displeasure.
- 3.To be suffocated or stifled.
- 4.To burn slowly, without sufficient air; to smolder.
- 5.Stifling smoke; thick dust. Shak.
- 6.A state of suppression. [Obs.] Not to keep their suspicions in smother. Bacon. Smother fly (Zoöl.), an aphid.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00