Definition of: smother

(smuth′ər) v.t.
1. To prevent the respiration of, as by filling or covering the mouth and nostrils; also, to kill by such means; suffocate; stifle.
2. To cover, or cause to smolder, as a fire.
3. Figuratively, to hide or suppress: to smother a scandal.
4. In cooking, to enclose and cook in a covered dish or under a close mass of some other substance.
5. To daub; smear.
—v.i.
6. To be covered without vent or air, as a fire.
7. To be hidden or suppressed, as wrath.
—noun
1. That which smothers, as stifling vapor or dust.
2. The state of being smothered; suppression; also, a smoldering fire.
3. A surging of foam or water; a welter. [Earlier smorther. Related to OE smorian suffocate]
—smoth′er·y adjective