1. marks or stains made by spreading a substance
2. false accusations intended to damage someone’s reputation
3. medical samples spread thinly on slides for examination
Usage: medical

1. spreads or rubs a substance messily over a surface
2. damages someone’s reputation with false accusations

Examples

• She smears butter on her toast every morning.
• The paint smears easily when it’s still wet.
• The politician’s opponents tried to smear his reputation.
• There were chocolate smears all over the kitchen counter.
• The newspaper published smears about the candidate.
• The doctor examined the blood smears under a microscope.
• Don’t touch the window – you’ll leave smears on the glass.