smother

Word family

smoth·er /ˈsmʌðə $ -ər/ verb [transitiveT]

1 COVERto completely cover the whole surface of something with something else, often in a way that seems unnecessary or unpleasant 完全覆盖，厚厚地覆盖

smother something with/in something

noodles smothered in garlic sauce

盖了厚厚蒜蓉酱的面

2 KILLBREATHEto kill someone by putting something over their face to stop them breathing 使窒息，把…闷死 → suffocate

A teenage mother was accused of smothering her 3-month-old daughter.

一个少女妈妈被指控闷死自己三个月大的女儿。

3 HIDE/NOT SHOWto stop yourself from showing your feelings or from doing an action 压抑〔感情〕；克制〔行为〕 SYN stifle

The girls tried to smother their giggles.

女孩们使劲忍住不笑出声来。

4 EMOTIONALto give someone so much love and attention that they feel as if they are not free and become unhappy 〔因爱得太过分〕使受不了，使不自在

I don’t want him to feel smothered.

我不想让他感到窒息。

5. smother somebody with kisses to kiss someone a lot 给某人一阵狂吻

Examples from the Corpus

smother somebody with kisses• She laughed and screamed until I had to smother her mouth with kisses.

6 BURN#to make a fire stop burning by preventing air from reaching it 把〔火〕闷熄

We used a wet towel to smother the fire.

我们用一块湿毛巾把火扑灭。

7 STOP something THAT IS HAPPENINGto get rid of anyone who opposes you – used to show disapproval 清除，压制〔反对者；含贬义〕

They ruthlessly smother all opposition.

他们无情地清除所有异己。

Examples from the Corpus

smother• I had to end it with Tim - I felt like I was being smothered.• Nancy smothered a smile.• The story - and, apparently, the memory - had been smothered by greater horrors.• Caliph Marwan Ibn al-Hakam: smothered by his wife, Umm Khalid.• When she was 18, she smothered her 11-month-old daughter.• It smothered him like dense mist.• Though prawns are low in calories, they are then smothered in a dressing loaded with them.• One girl in the ambulance was smothered in blood.• The streets of the resort were clotted with cars and smothered in the smell of fried food and sun tan lotion.• The Phillies' Curt Schilling smothered the Blue Jays, 5-0.• I grabbed a blanket and tried to smother the flames.• If the victim's clothes are burning, use a blanket to smother the flames.• He flipped and stirred, measuring lumps of rice on to plates which he then smothered with a brownish stroganoff.

smother something with/in something• My steak arrived, smothered in onions and gravy.

Origin smother

(1100-1200) smother “thick smoke” ((12-19 centuries)), from Old English smorian “to suffocate”

smoth·er verb

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus