smut
/smʌt/noun, verb
smut is spelled S-M-U-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, smut means “Soot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of smut is smuts.
How many letters and syllables are in smut?
| Letters | 4: S-M-U-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is smut?
Smut appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd 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 smut?
- /smʌt/
- /smʊt/
Smut has one syllable (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-smut.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-smut.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with smut?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as smut.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: must, stum.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of smut
- smuts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- smutting participle, present
- smutted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does smut mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Soot.
- 2
A flake of ash or soot.
- 3
Sexually vulgar material; something that is sexual in a dirty way; pornographic material.
- 4
Obscene language; ribaldry; obscenity.
- 5
Any of a range of fungi, mostly Ustilaginomycetes, that cause plant disease in grasses, including cereal crops; the disease so caused.
- 6
Bad, soft coal containing earthy matter, found in the immediate locality of faults.
- 7
archaicslangA copper boiler.
verb
- 1
To stain (or be stained) with soot or other dirt.
- 2
To taint (grain, etc.) with the smut fungus.
- 3
To become tainted by the smut fungus.
- 4
To clear of the smut fungus.
to smut grain for the mill
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Smut in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cul , charbon |
| German | Pornographie , Brand |
| Portuguese | carvão, morrão |
| Spanish | tizón, polvillo |
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 smut come from?
From Middle English smutten (“to defile, debase”), related to German Schmutz (“filth, dirt, smut”) and schmutzen (“to make dirty, stain”). Doublet of schmutz. Compare also Old English smitta (“smear; blot; mark; stain; pollution”), Old English besmītan (“to besmut; defile; dirty; pollute; contaminate”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).