Smut Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms smut American [smuht] / smʌt /

noun

1. a particle of soot; sooty matter.

2. a black or dirty mark; smudge.

3. indecent language or publications; obscenity.

4. Plant Pathology.

   1. a disease of plants, especially cereal grasses, characterized by the conversion of affected parts into black, powdery masses of spores, caused by fungi of the order Ustilaginales.

   2. a fungus causing this disease.

verb (used with object)

smutted, smutting

1. to soil or smudge.

verb (used without object)

smutted, smutting

1. to become affected with smut, as a plant.

smut British / smʌt /

noun

1. a small dark smudge or stain, esp one caused by soot

2. a speck of soot or dirt

3. something obscene or indecent

4. 1. any of various fungal diseases of flowering plants, esp cereals, in which black sooty masses of spores cover the affected parts

   2. any parasitic basidiomycetous fungus of the order Ustilaginales that causes such a disease

5. angling a minute midge or other insect relished by trout

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to mark or become marked or smudged, as with soot

2. to affect (grain) or (of grain) to be affected with smut

3. (tr) to remove smut from (grain)

4. (tr) to make obscene

5. (intr) to emit soot or smut

6. (intr) angling (of trout) to feed voraciously on smuts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 smut Scientific / smŭt /

1. Any of various bacidiomycete fungi that are parasitic on plants and are distinguished by the black, powdery masses of spores that appear as sooty smudges on the affected plant parts. Smuts are parasitic chiefly on cereal grasses like corn and wheat and can cause enormous damage to crops.

2. Any of the various plant diseases caused by smuts, such as corn smut.

Usage

What else does smut mean? Smut is obscene or pornographic material, including pictures and writing.

Other Word Forms

• antismut adjective
• smuttily adverb
• smuttiness noun
• smutty adjective
• unsmutted adjective

Etymology

Origin of smut

First recorded in 1580–90; akin to earlier smit ( Old English smitte ), by association with smudge, smutch

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.

Among the pet projects for the new guard was the library, which council members alleged was little better than a smut shop because the young adult section featured books about puberty and LGBTQ+ issues.

From Los Angeles Times

He settled on using one from corn smut, a fungal pathogen.

From Science Magazine

Thursday’s announcement said Russia would “take all measures” to prevent contamination by wheat smut fungus and would suspend exports to China if it was found.

From Seattle Times

In oats, crown rust, stem rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, oat smut, and other diseases are seen in North America.

From The Verge

The people who made those films insisted they were not smut but art.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• erotica
• filth
• obscenity

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.