schmieren
German, verb
schmieren is spelled S-C-H-M-I-E-R-E-N (9 letters) and appears 2.0 times per million words in written German, the 24,295th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Schmieren is a German verb meaning “to smear, to spread (a cream or similar substance across across a surface)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Schmieren is a different word: “gerund of schmieren”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “etwas mit etwas bestreichen”.
What does schmieren mean in English?
verb
- 1
to smear, to spread (a cream or similar substance across across a surface)
- 2
to butter (bread, etc.)
ein Butterbrot schmieren
- 3
to grease, to oil, to lubricate
- 4
informalto bribe
Wir können durch die Hintertür rein, ich habe den Wachmann geschmiert.
- 5
colloquialto scribble, to scrawl
- 6
derogatoryto scrawl (deface a surface with grafitti or something similar)
Hakenkreuze an Mauern schmieren
noun
- 1
neutergerund of schmieren
noun
- 1
feminineplural of Schmier
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. etwas mit etwas bestreichen 2. bewegliche Teile mit einer Substanz benetzen, die die mechanische Reibung reduziert 3. unleserlich schreiben 4. jemanden mit Geld oder anderen Gütern bestechen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of schmieren
- schmiert present singular third-person
- schmierte past
- geschmiert participle past
- haben auxiliary
- schmierend participle present
- schmiere first-person indicative present
- schmierst indicative present second-person
- schmierest second-person singular subjunctive
- schmieret plural second-person subjunctive
- schmierten first-person indicative plural
- schmiertest indicative preterite second-person
- schmiertet indicative plural preterite
- schmier imperative second-person singular
- habe geschmiert first-person indicative multiword-construction
- haben geschmiert first-person indicative multiword-construction
- schmiere! imperative singular
- schmier! imperative singular
- schmiert! imperative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to schmieren
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is schmieren in German?
schmieren appears 2.0 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).