To smash means to break something violently into many pieces, usually making a loud noise. When you drop a glass plate on a hard floor, it might smash into dozens of sharp fragments. When a baseball crashes through a window, it smashes the glass. The word captures both the force of the impact and the dramatic way things shatter.

You can also smash things together: imagine smashing two cymbals or clapping your hands together hard enough to make a sharp sound. In sports, players talk about smashing a tennis ball or volleyball, hitting it with tremendous power.

As a noun, a smash can be a hard hit or crash. When something becomes hugely successful, people call it a smash hit. A movie that breaks box office records or a song everyone suddenly loves might be a smash hit.

Smash is an intense word. You wouldn't say you smashed a piece of paper when you crumpled it gently. You use smash when something breaks dramatically, moves with serious force, or succeeds spectacularly.