How to Use smear in a Sentence

smear

1 of 2 noun
  • The blood smear revealed malaria.
  • Stop with the smears and the lies.
    — Dawn White, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025
  • There was -- blood smear on the wall.
    — Gail Zimmerman, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
  • And every fear gives birth to a smear.
    — Chris Brennan, USA Today, 25 June 2026
  • The smear campaign is in full force.
    — Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • They dirty floors and walls with smears and droppings.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 28 June 2026
  • Queens in the gloaming, the sky a smear of pinks and purples.
    — Dan Piepenbring, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2020
  • Her annual pap smears had missed it.
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Note the sunspots and cloudy smears in the lower half of the window at right.
    — Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Add a smear of Irish butter for the perfect start to your day.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 June 2026
  • And nothing ages one like smudges, smears, and scuff marks all over the walls and baseboards.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • There was a chicken-wing smear on my tuxedo—at my own wedding.
    — Matt Moore, Southern Living, 13 Jan. 2026
  • The bread gets a smear of kajmak, an ultra-creamy fresh cheese.
    — Nick Kindelsperger, chicagotribune.com, 21 Sep. 2021
  • But that didn't stop left-wing academics from launching a smear campaign.
    — Ilya Shapiro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Routine Pap smears are life-saving.
    — Essence, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The events themselves—the words, the acts, the intent—are a blur, a frantic smear.
    — Sam Lipsyte, The New Yorker, 28 June 2021
  • These are best with a generous smear of ricotta on the base of the toast.
    — Magdalena O'Neal, Sunset Magazine, 28 Jan. 2022
  • English muffins are just as tasty with a simple smear of butter, jam, and a pinch of flaky salt.
    — Sara Tane, Good Housekeeping, 15 Mar. 2021
  • But our hands were stained with the red ink from grading pens, not the brown smear of tobacco plants.
    — Beth Thames, al, 14 Dec. 2022
  • Apart from a lime green smear across its back, its skin, muscle and other tissues are see-through.
    — Veronique Greenwood, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2022
  • It was reduced to a white smear that could only be identified from the air.
    — Michael Jerome Plunkett september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The patch should be flush with the tile surface and confined to just the screw holes; don’t leave smears across the tile.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2023
  • Nikolas learned that her site may be connected to other smear sites late last year.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
  • The Tates’ advisers warned them not to publicly take part in the smears.
    — Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • The assault left a white smear on the glass, but the painting itself was not damaged.
    — Bradford Betz, Fox News, 3 June 2022
  • Cities a hundred miles from the flames were filled with smoke so thick that the sun turned into a faint orange smear.
    — Kiliii Yüyan, History & Culture, 17 Dec. 2020
  • And along the length of the passenger door was a reddish-brown hori-zontal smear.
    — Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Second, there hasn’t been any massive smear campaign against Gaga.
    — Ernest Owens, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2021
  • The assault left a creamy white smear on the glass, but the Mona Lisa was not damaged.
    — Chron, 2 June 2022
  • They’re platted with a smear of vibrant green mojo sauce full of blanched cilantro, parsley and oregano.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2023

smear

2 of 2 verb
  • Butter was smeared all over the counter.
  • She smeared jam on her toast.
  • Her mascara smeared when she cried.
  • The children smeared the window with fingerprints.
  • There was white paint smeared on their faces.
    — Literary Hub, 8 Dec. 2025
  • His nose is smeared with a white strip of sun cream.
    — Molly Aitken, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Blood was smeared on the hood, roof and rear of the sedan.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Jan. 2026
  • His right arm was bandaged, his left hand smeared with blood.
    — Cate Brown, Washington Post, 15 Dec. 2023
  • Once again, her red lip color did not smear, let alone budge.
    — Brittany Talarico, Peoplemag, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Her black hair was in a short bob, her forehead smeared with blood.
    — Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2023
  • At the time the notes handed over from the paramedics were smeared with blood.
    — Mostafa Salem, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Pink and blue clown paint is now smeared all over the driver's side airbag.
    — Camila Domonoske, NPR, 16 Dec. 2025
  • Mash it up, smear it on toast, toss it in a salad, or eat it straight.
    — Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2025
  • León was clothed, his garments smeared with Rivera’s blood.
    — Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Make sure to not smear the polish across more of the surface.
    — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 Nov. 2023
  • This dip is best smeared on slices of crostini.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Snack on apple slices smeared with nut butter.
    — Jillian Kubala, Health, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Your goal is to remove messes, not smear them.
    — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 29 Apr. 2026
  • His windshield is smeared with the dust of a lengthy road journey.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 22 May 2026
  • Blood smeared the surface of the octagon.
    — Oskar Garcia, New York Times, 15 June 2026
  • Blood was smeared throughout the business.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
  • When my plate arrived, my friend made a face as though it was smeared with something nasty.
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024
  • Charcoal clouds smear my window.
    — Joseph Trinidad, Longreads, 16 June 2026
  • Or, simply smear on a thick layer before bed and wake up to dewy skin.
    — Lacey Muinos, Health, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Grainy mustard smeared on a chunk of corned beef is delicious too.
    — Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Tiny tufts of fur jet into my nose; flecks of spittle smear onto my cheeks.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2022
  • Rubbing will smear the mud and cause a bigger problem.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 6 Sep. 2025
  • The ethanol or isopropyl acts as a carrier that helps the ink dry and not smear.
    — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
  • The Orbánists first ignored them, then smeared them.
    — Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 9 May 2026
  • Chocolate smeared across his face and pooled on his fingertips.
    — Emily Davies, Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2024

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