schmaltz

[ shmahlts, shmawlts ]
See synonyms for schmaltz on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Informal. exaggerated sentimentalism, as in music or soap operas.

  2. liquid animal fat, especially of a chicken.

Origin of schmaltz

1
First recorded in 1930–35; from Yiddish shmalts or German Schmalz; cognate with smelt1
  • Also schmalz .
  • Sometimes shmaltz .

Words Nearby schmaltz

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use schmaltz in a sentence

  • And again the fortune of schmaltz was swept away and again he was kicked.

    The Boy Grew Older | Heywood Broun
  • Somehow or other the story of schmaltz and the shirt had made him sad.

    The Boy Grew Older | Heywood Broun

British Dictionary definitions for schmaltz

schmaltz

schmalz

/ (ʃmælts, ʃmɔːlts) /


noun
  1. excessive sentimentality, esp in music

  2. US animal fat used in cooking

Origin of schmaltz

1
C20: from German (Schmalz) and Yiddish: melted fat, from Old High German smalz

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012