SMATTER

smatter

(verb) speak with spotty or superficial knowledge; “She smatters Russian”

babble, blather, smatter, blether, blither

(verb) to talk foolishly; “The two women babbled and crooned at the baby”

dabble, smatter, play around

(verb) work with in an amateurish manner; “She dabbles in astronomy”; “He plays around with investments but he never makes any money”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

smatter (third-person singular simple present smatters, present participle smattering, simple past and past participle smattered)

(intransitive) To talk superficially; to babble, chatter.

(transitive) To speak (a language) with spotty or superficial knowledge.

(transitive, figuratively) To study or approach superficially; to dabble in.

To have a slight taste, or a slight, superficial knowledge, of anything; to smack.

Noun

smatter (plural smatters)

A smattering (small number or amount).

A smattering (superficial knowledge).

Anagrams

• Matters, matters

Source: Wiktionary


Smat"ter, v. i. Etym: [OE. smateren to make a noise; cf. Sw. smattra to clatter, to crackle, G. schmettern to dash, crash, to warble, quaver.]

1. To talk superficially or ignorantly; to babble; to chatter. Of state affairs you can not smatter. Swift.

2. To have a slight taste, or a slight, superficial knowledge, of anything; to smack.

Smat"ter, v. t.

1. To talk superficially about.

2. To gain a slight taste of; to acquire a slight, superficial knowledge of; to smack. Chaucer.

Smat"ter, n.

Definition: Superficial knowledge; a smattering.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

31 March 2025

IMPROVISED

(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”


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Coffee Trivia

Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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