smutch
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
a smudge or stain.
-
dirt, grime, or smut.
verb
noun
-
a mark; smudge
-
soot; dirt
Other Word Forms
- smutchless adjective
- smutchy adjective
- unsmutched adjective
Etymology
Origin of smutch
1520–30; perhaps < Middle High German smutzen to smear; compare German Schmutz smut
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She hadn’t done anything to me, and the smutch of the mud against her blue gown — the prettiest dress I ever saw.
From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz
As an ill coin beneath the wearing touch Betrays by stain and smutch Its metal false—such is the sinful wight.
From The House of Atreus by Morshead, E. D. A. (Edmund Doidge Anderson)
They were alert, well-muscled; their faces were streaked with paleness and a black smutch like dancers made up for a masquerade.
From Tramping on Life An Autobiographical Narrative by Kemp, Harry
O!" said they, "how sad a smutch on Our clean United Kingdom's 'scutcheon!
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, May 20, 1914 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
He had been deeply impressed by his wife's warnings against Fanshaw—"a lump of soot, and sure to smutch you if you go near him."
From The Cost by Phillips, David Graham
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
