smash
part of speech
verb (smash, smashes, smashed, smashing); noun (a smash, smashes)
meaning for a pupil
1) To smash something is to break it into many pieces with force and noise. tree →
2) To smash into something is to hit it very hard, like a car smashing into a wall. tree →
3) In tennis or badminton, a smash is a hard hit downwards. tree →
4) A smash or «smash hit» is a very big success, like a hit song or film. tree →
5) To smash a record is to beat it by a lot. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and safety: glass smashes, so sweep it up carefully and tell an adult; cars can smash into each other in a crash. In sports, players smash the ball. Phrases: «smash to pieces», «smash into», «smash hit», «smash a record».
examples
- The glass fell and smashed on the floor. tree →
- A ball smashed the window. tree →
- The car smashed into a lamppost, but nobody was hurt. tree →
- She won the point with a great smash. tree →
- The film was a smash hit. tree →
- He smashed the school record for the long jump. tree →
- Don't touch smashed glass with your hands. tree →
- The waves smashed against the rocks. tree →
- He smashed the egg, and Koshchei the Deathless died. tree →
note
Regular verb: «smashed». Plural noun «smashes». Smash is stronger than break: it suggests many pieces and a loud noise. «Smashing» in UK English can also mean great or wonderful («a smashing day»).
In the corpora
- Sea otters smash shellfish on a stone laid on the chest and keep a favourite stone in a loose skin pocket under the arm.
- A gull drops a shellfish onto rocks from a height to smash the shell open.
- The tuskfish carries a clam in its mouth and smashes it on a rock, using the rock as an anvil.
- Badger asks «Smashes, or machines?» The Rat: «it's the same thing—with Toad.
- Owen's football smashed Mr Patel's greenhouse in Leeds.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «smash» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.