smack-dab

adv

"smack-dab" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“smack-dab” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exactly in a place, especially the middle; directly; precisely; dead-center.

Corpus desk

Index EN-smack-dab · smack-dab · English

smack-dab · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for smack-dab
PropertyValue
Headwordsmack-dab
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “smack-dab” in English

smack-dabsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

smack-dab is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Exactly in a place, especially the middle; directly; precisely; dead-center.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for smack-dab in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is smack-dab, spelled S-M-A-C-K---D-A-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exactly in a place, especially the middle; directly; precisely; dead-center.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how smack-dab appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I tossed the water balloon and it landed smack-dab on the top of his head.
  2. Things build and build, and it becomes clearer and clearer that a battle is about to take place. In “Stormborn,” a bang above deck is all the warning we get, and suddenly the Yara Greyjoy fleet is smack dab in the middle of Euron’s Iron Fleet, and the party begins.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "smack-dab"?
"smack-dab" is spelled S-M-A-C-K---D-A-B.
What does "smack-dab" mean?
As an adverb, "smack-dab" means: Exactly in a place, especially the middle; directly; precisely; dead-center.
What language does "smack-dab" come from?
"smack-dab" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list