Meanings
smoot1
smoot2
plural smoots · alternative smoat · alternative smout · alternative smeut · alternative smot · alternative smut · alternative smute · alternative smeyut
- UKdialectalA small opening built into a dry-stone wall, fence, or hedge to allow sheep (and hares) to pass through; a thirl.
Synonyms: smoot hole
Smoot3
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA small opening built into a dry-stone wall, fence, or hedge to allow sheep (and hares) to pass through; a thirl.
Origin
smoot · noun
Derives from the height of Oliver R. Smoot, who had lain on the Harvard Bridge to measure it as a fraternity prank at MIT.
Full word history & related roots →smoot · noun
- Proto-Germanic*smēhaz“small, narrow”
- Proto-Germanic*smēhtǭ“narrow path”
- Old Norsesmátta“narrow passageway, gap”
- Middle English*smote
- Englishsmoot
From Middle English *smote, *smotte, from Old Norse smátta (“narrow passageway, gap”), from Proto-Germanic *smēhtǭ (“narrow path”), from Proto-Germanic *smēhaz (“small, narrow”).
More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Smoot · proper noun
Likely from the Dutch smout, someone who sold or worked with animal fat.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with smoot
Anagrams
Cite this entry
smoot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smoot
“smoot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smoot. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smoot,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smoot.
Source: smoot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.