To smite means to strike something with a powerful, forceful blow. In old stories and religious texts, mighty warriors would smite their enemies with swords, and angry gods would smite wrongdoers with lightning bolts. The word carries a sense of righteous punishment or overwhelming force.

You'll mostly encounter smite in older literature, the Bible, or fantasy stories. A hero might smite a dragon, or divine judgment might smite an evil king. The past tense is smote (“The knight smote the ogre”), and something that has been struck down is smitten (“The villain was smitten by the hero's blade”).

Today, people rarely use smite in everyday conversation except playfully or dramatically. You might joke about being smitten with a new hobby, meaning you're struck with sudden, intense enthusiasm for it, like being hit by a wave of passion. But mostly, smite belongs to epic tales where good triumphs over evil with decisive, powerful action.