What does smother mean?
To smother something is to cover, suppress, or overwhelm it so completely that its normal activity is prevented. The literal meaning is to deprive someone of air, as smoke or flames might, but the verb is also widely used figuratively: people smother laughter, voices, flames, and emotions. It can describe concealing evidence or making a sound difficult to hear, as well as showing intense affection by covering someone with kisses. The word often conveys a sense of complete restraint or suffocation, but it can also be humorous or affectionate depending on context. Its energetic imagery makes it useful for describing anything that overwhelms a person, interrupts communication, or prevents a reaction from becoming fully visible. In “smother a fire,” it means to extinguish the flames by cutting off oxygen; in “smother laughter,” it means to suppress the outward expression of laughter.
To deprive someone of air or breathing, or to kill or overcome someone by suffocation. It can also mean to suppress, conceal, or extinguish something by covering it.
"The smoke was thick enough to smother the flames but also filled the room."
The literal sense refers to suffocation or the prevention of burning; the figurative senses are very common.
A dense mass or covering that suppresses, conceals, or suffocates something; also, an act or condition of smothering.
"A smother of fog hung over the harbor."
The noun form is uncommon; the verb is the usual part of speech.
"The fields lay beneath a thick smother of mist."
From suffocating someone to trying not to laugh too loudly, “smother” has a life beyond death: we can smother flames, sounds, and even our own reactions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does smother come from?
The word comes from Old English smorian, meaning “to smother, suffocate, or extinguish,” with related older meanings involving being overwhelmed or consumed. Its precise origin is uncertain, although it may be connected with words in other Germanic languages referring to suffocation, choking, or cooking by slow heat. Modern usage developed from the literal sense of preventing breathing or extinguishing flames into the figurative senses of suppression, concealment, and affectionate closeness.
Related word forms
How smother is actually used
The verb is figurative when it describes suppressing laughter, hiding a sound, or overwhelming someone with affection. Its literal sense is uncommon but firmly established.
Easily confused with smother
Suffocate specifically means to cause death or severe breathing difficulty by preventing the intake of air, whereas smother more broadly means to cover, suppress, or overcome something, including a fire, sound, or feeling.