to smother
6
5.3
- verb
- /ˈsmʌðər/
- So you have to use powder, which basically is you drop a solid mass over the fire and that smothers the fire.
- smother a fire
- smother the flames
- smother with foam
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Watch on YouTubeSo you have to use powder, which basically is you drop a solid mass over the fire and that smothers the fire.
- So you have to use powder, which basically is you drop a solid mass over the fire and that smothers the fire.
Examples
-
One sure way to put it out is to smother it.
-
The oil has to cover all the pests on the tree in order to smother them.
Academic text (1996) -
Keep a lid nearby when you are cooking to smother small grease fires.
Blog text (3) -
They're smothering the flames!
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Large numbers of crabs, rockfish, and other organisms that couldn't flee the area fast enough were smothered.
Academic text (2006) -
The firefighters used a thick blanket to smother the flames quickly and prevent them from spreading.
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When the grease fire started, she grabbed a lid to smother it and cut off its oxygen supply.
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He quickly threw a wet towel over the fire to smother it before it could cause any damage.
Synonyms
181
2.0
Make a fire, light, or cigarette stop burning
64
2.4
Stop a flame by breathing on it
39
5.7
To put out a small flame by covering or pinching it
39
4.4
Stop a fire, candle, or other light from burning
17
5.1
To stop a fire or light from burning
7
2.5
Stop a fire burning and spreading
4
4.7
Stop a flame, candle, or small fire from burning
2
4.0
To press a small burning thing so it stops burning, for example a cigarette
1
9.9
To put out a fire or light
To stop something burning by crushing it
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
1
7.0
To give someone so much care and affection that they feel overwhelmed
How Extinguished
Surface Forms
Etymology
Smother originally carried the idea of cutting off air by covering, which gives a clear image: cover a fire so it cannot 'breathe' and the flames die. That's why to smother a fire means to put something over it so the fire goes out.