# smashing

Pronunciation: US say "SMASH-ing" /ˈsmæʃɪŋ/; UK

## Adjective

1. Wonderful; very good or impressive. *(British, Ireland)*
   - Simple: Very good, enjoyable, or impressive.
   - _The host put on a smashing dinner for all the guests._
   - _What a smashing performance the orchestra gave tonight._
7. Serving to break something apart with force.
   - Simple: Used to break something apart with a hard, forceful hit.
   - _A smashing impact crumpled the front of the car._
   - _The wrecking ball dealt a smashing blow to the abandoned factory._

## Verb

2. Present participle and gerund of smash. — present participle and gerund of smash
   - Simple: Present participle of smash. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _He was smashing the old dishes one piece at a time._
   - _Smashing the targets at the fair won her a stuffed bear._

## Noun

3. The violent breaking or destruction of something brittle.
   - Simple: The act of breaking something brittle into pieces in a violent way.
   - _The smashing of the chandelier sent shards across the ballroom floor._
   - _Neighbors reported the smashing of bottles against the alley wall late at night._
4. The act of hitting something extremely hard.
   - Simple: A very hard hit against something.
   - _The smashing of the puck against the boards echoed through the rink._
   - _A single smashing of the mallet drove the post deep into the ground._
5. The act or result of breaking something to pieces with violent force.
   - Simple: The breaking apart of something into pieces by being hit hard.
   - _When the demolition crew arrived, the smashing of the old walls began at once._
   - _Years of careless handling ended in the smashing of the family heirloom._
6. The act of crushing something, such as a career or a hope, suddenly and completely.
   - Simple: The sudden and complete ruin of something.
   - _The scandal led to the smashing of a once-respected political career._
   - _The drought meant the smashing of every hope the farmers had for that season._
8. Crushing that changes something’s shape under steady pressure.
   - Simple: The crushing of something out of shape by steady pressure.
   - _The smashing of the grapes underfoot released a flood of juice into the vat._
   - _Gradual smashing in the vise bent the copper tube nearly flat._
9. An overwhelming victory or success. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A great win or huge success.
   - _The opening night was a smashing that filled every seat in the theater._
   - _Against all predictions, the campaign ended in a smashing at the polls._
10. A vulgar slang word for an act of sexual intercourse. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude slang word for an act of sex between people.
   - _He bragged to his mates about the smashing he'd had the night before._
   - _She had no interest in a casual smashing with someone she'd only just met._

## Noun

11. A disastrous failure of something. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A terrible failure or sudden collapse of something.
   - _The speculation ended in a smashing that wiped out the firm's savings._
   - _After the harvest failed, the estate slid toward an unavoidable smashing._

## Origin

From smash + -ing. Used to mean 'wonderful', it first appeared in the United States in the early twentieth century and possibly comes from the sense of smash found in 'smash hit'. A popular folk etymology links it to the similar-sounding Irish 'is maith sin' or Scottish Gaelic ''s math sin' ("that is good"), but this has been called improbable and does not appear in etymological dictionaries.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/smashing (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).