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Added 10 October 2026

schmear

/ʃmɪə(ɹ)/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about schmear at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

(Yiddish) a batch of things that go together.
he bought the whole schmeer

Origin

Borrowed from Yiddish שמיר (shmir, “smear, spread”); compare German schmieren. Doublet of smear, smearcase. By surface analysis, schm- + smear. The sense “bribe” is from Yiddish שמירן (shmirn, “to smear, to bribe”), senses found also in German schmieren. The implication is that a bribe helps “lubricate” an interaction.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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