🟤 To spot or cover 🗣️ To know a little

to smatter

9.9

To know a little about a subject or language

verb
/ˈsmætər/

Archaic

: hablar superficialmente

Although he claims to know French, he only smatters a few phrases.

Examples

She smattered some Italian during her trip, but most locals responded in English.
Sarah can smatter in Spanish.
Many tourists smatter local languages without mastering them.
He can only smatter in French.
Although he claims to know French, he only smatters a few phrases.
Many tourists smatter local languages without mastering them.
She smattered some Italian during her trip, but most locals responded in English.

Synonyms

to play around

vsto smatter

Informal

47 3.4

To try something in a casual playful way without being serious

means having slight knowledge of a subject or language rather than playful experimentation

to dabble

vsto smatter

45 4.8

To try an activity in a casual way without serious effort

shows slight knowledge or speaking ability rather than casual participation

Phrasal Verbs

to smatter color

9.1

To put small spots of color over a surface like a shirt or wall

to smatter paint

8.6

To paint quickly in a messy, uneven way

How Knowledgeable

to master

191 4.1

to know

∞ 1.0

to dabble

45 4.8

to smatter

Archaic

9.9

Surface Forms

smatter infinitive

smattered past

smattered past participle

smattering present participle

smatters third person singular

Etymology

Smatter comes from the idea of a smattering, a 'small amount'. Picture little bits of knowledge scattered around, like in scatter, so to smatter in a language is to 'know a few bits' rather than to speak it well.