smite
verb /smaɪt/
/smaɪt/
(old use or literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they smite | /smaɪt/ /smaɪt/ |
| he / she / it smites | /smaɪts/ /smaɪts/ |
| past simple smote | /sməʊt/ /sməʊt/ |
| past participle smitten | /ˈsmɪtn/ /ˈsmɪtn/ |
| -ing form smiting | /ˈsmaɪtɪŋ/ /ˈsmaɪtɪŋ/ |
- smite somebody/something to hit somebody/something hard; to attack or punish somebody
- smite somebody to have a great effect on somebody, especially an unpleasant or serious one
- Suddenly my conscience smote me.
see also smitten
Word OriginOld English smītan ‘to smear, blemish’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch smijten and German schmeissen ‘to fling’.