smashing
/ˈsmæʃɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
smashing is spelled S-M-A-S-H-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, smashing means “Serving to smash (something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in smashing?
| Letters | 8: S-M-A-S-H-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is smashing?
Smashing appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce smashing?
- /ˈsmæʃɪŋ/
Smashing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-smashing.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of smashing
- more smashing comparative
- most smashing superlative
- smashings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smashing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Serving to smash (something).
The boxer delivered a smashing blow to his opponent's head.
- 2
IrelandUKWonderful, very good or impressive.
We had a smashing time at the zoo.
noun
- 1
The breaking or destruction of (something brittle) in a violent manner.
Some Greek dance is traditionally accompanied by the smashing of crockery.
- 2
The destruction or disintegration of something by being smashed.
- 3
The hitting of something extremely hard.
- 4
The complete and sudden ruin or ruination of something.
- 5
informalAn overwhelming victory or success.
- 6
The deformation of something through continuous pressure.
- 7
slangvulgarAn act of sexual intercourse.
- 8
archaicslangA disastrous failure of something.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of smash
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smashing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wonderful:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sensass, super, génial |
| Spanish | excelente, maravilloso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does smashing come from?
From smash + -ing. As a synonym for wonderful, the term first appeared in the United States in the early twentieth century, and possibly derives from the sense of smash used in smash hit and similar terms. Popular folk etymology connects the term to the broadly homophonous Irish is maith sin or Scottish Gaelic 's math sin ("that is good"), but this has been described as "improbable", and does not appear in the etymological dictionaries.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).