to smother
11
5.3
- verb
- /ˈsmʌðər/
:
sofocar
- 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
So 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!
-
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.
-
When the grease fire started, she grabbed a lid to smother it and cut off its oxygen supply.
-
He quickly threw a wet towel over the fire to smother it before it could cause any damage.
Synonyms
114
2.0
Make a fire, light, or cigarette stop burning
50
2.4
Stop a flame by breathing on it
31
5.7
To put out a small flame by covering or pinching it
23
4.4
Stop a fire, candle, or other light from burning
20
5.1
To stop a fire or light from burning
6
4.7
Stop a flame, candle, or small fire from burning
5
2.5
Stop a fire burning and spreading
1
4.0
To press a small burning thing so it stops burning, for example a cigarette
To put out a fire or light
To stop something burning by crushing it
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
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.