Ask Difference

Smash vs. Hit — What's the Difference?

By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 21, 2024
Smash implies forceful, often destructive impact, while hit involves making contact, potentially with less force.
Smash vs. Hit — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Smash and Hit

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Key Differences

Smash typically denotes a forceful and often violent impact, suggesting breaking or shattering. Whereas hit means to make contact with something, but does not inherently imply destruction.
In sports, smash is used specifically in games like tennis or badminton to describe a powerful overhead stroke, while hit is more universally applied across various sports to denote any type of striking action.
When referring to success in entertainment, smash is colloquially used to mean a huge success, particularly in the music or film industries. On the other hand, hit refers to any successful song, movie, or show, but with a broader range of success levels.
In terms of sound, smash often conveys a loud, crashing noise indicative of something being broken. In contrast, hit can produce a variety of sounds depending on the context, not necessarily loud or destructive.
The intent behind the terms also differs; smash can imply a deliberate intent to break or destroy, while hit might not convey any specific intention beyond the action of making contact.
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Comparison Chart

Definition

To break something into pieces with force
To come into contact with something

Connotation

Often violent and destructive
General contact, not necessarily violent

Usage in Sports

Specific terms like tennis for a forceful stroke
Used broadly in many sports

Usage in Entertainment

Refers to massive success, especially sudden
Broadly used for any level of success

Sound

Implies a loud, crashing noise
Can vary, not specifically loud or crashing

Compare with Definitions

Smash

To violently break something into pieces.
He smashed the mirror with a hammer.

Hit

To come into contact with something forcefully.
The baseball player hit the ball right out of the park.

Smash

To achieve overwhelming success in entertainment.
Their debut album was a smash hit.

Hit

To strike with an intent to harm.
He hit the thief with a stick.

Smash

To crash destructively.
The car smashed into the storefront.

Hit

To affect something or someone negatively.
The economic downturn hit their company hard.

Smash

To hit something with a lot of force in sports.
She executed a perfect smash in the badminton match.

Hit

To come to someone's mind suddenly.
A great idea hit her during the meeting.

Smash

To forcefully press or push.
He smashed the button in frustration.

Hit

To reach a particular point or level.
The new video quickly hit one million views.

Smash

(Sports) To hit (a ball, puck, or shuttlecock) in a forceful overhand stroke.

Hit

To come into contact with forcefully; strike
The car hit the guardrail.

Smash

To break (something) into pieces suddenly, noisily, and violently; shatter.

Hit

To cause to come into contact
She hit her hand against the wall.

Smash

To render (something) into a mush or pulp, as by throwing or crushing
Smashed the tomatoes against the wall.

Hit

To deal a blow to
He hit the punching bag.

Smash

To strike with a heavy blow or impact
The boxer smashed his opponent in the ribs. The bulldozer smashed down the barricade.

Hit

To cause an implement or missile to come forcefully into contact with
Hit the nail with a hammer.

Smash

To cause to come into forceful contact with something
Stood up and smashed his head against the cabinet door.

Hit

To press or push (a key or button, for example)
Hit the return key by mistake.

Smash

To crush or destroy completely
The army smashed the rebellion.

Hit

To reach with a propelled ball or puck
Hit the running back with a pass.

Smash

To surpass or outdo by a large margin
Smashed the record for goals in a season.

Hit

To score in this way
She hit the winning basket.

Smash

To move and strike or collide suddenly, noisily, and violently
The car smashed into a tree.

Hit

To perform (a shot or maneuver) successfully
Couldn't hit the jump shot.

Smash

To break suddenly into pieces, as from a violent blow or collision
The dish smashed when it hit the floor.

Hit

To propel with a stroke or blow
Hit the ball onto the green.

Smash

(Sports) To hit a ball, puck, or shuttlecock in a forceful overhand stroke.

Hit

To execute (a base hit) successfully
Hit a single.

Smash

To go bankrupt.

Hit

To bat against (a pitcher or kind of pitch) successfully
Can't hit a slider.

Smash

A heavy blow or collision
The smash knocked over the signpost.

Hit

To affect, especially adversely
The company was hit hard by the recession. Influenza hit the elderly the hardest.

Smash

(Sports) A forceful overhand stroke, as in tennis or badminton.

Hit

To be affected by (a negative development)
Their marriage hit a bad patch.

Smash

A violent breaking of something or the noise made by such breaking
There was a loud smash in the kitchen as the dishes fell off the shelf.

Hit

To win (a prize, for example), especially in a lottery.

Smash

Total defeat or destruction; ruin.

Hit

To arise suddenly in the mind of; occur to
It finally hit him that she might be his long-lost sister.

Smash

Financial failure; bankruptcy.

Hit

(Informal) To go to or arrive at
We hit the beach early.

Smash

A drink made of mint, sugar, soda water, and alcoholic liquor, usually brandy.

Hit

(Informal) To attain or reach
Monthly sales hit a new high. She hit 40 on her last birthday.

Smash

A soft drink made of crushed fruit.

Hit

To produce or represent accurately
Trying to hit the right note.

Smash

(Informal) A resounding success
The play was a smash on Broadway.

Hit

(Games) To deal cards to.

Smash

Of, relating to, or being a resounding success
A smash hit on Broadway.

Hit

(Sports) To bite on or take (bait or a lure). Used of a fish.

Smash

With a sudden violent crash.

Hit

To strike or deal a blow.

Smash

The sound of a violent impact; a violent striking together.
I could hear the screech of the brakes, then the horrible smash of cars colliding.

Hit

To come into contact with something; collide.

Smash

A traffic collision.
The driver and two passengers were badly injured in the smash.

Hit

To attack
The raiders hit at dawn.

Smash

(colloquial) Something very successful or popular (as music, food, fashion, etc).
This new show is sure to be a smash.

Hit

To happen or occur
The storm hit without warning.

Smash

(tennis) A very hard overhead shot hit sharply downward.
A smash may not be as pretty as a good half volley, but it can still win points.

Hit

To achieve or find something desired or sought
Finally hit on the answer.
Hit upon a solution to the problem.

Smash

A bankruptcy.

Hit

(Baseball) To bat or bat well
Their slugger hasn't been hitting lately.

Smash

A disaster; a bad situation.

Hit

(Sports) To score by shooting, especially in basketball
Hit on 7 of 8 shots.

Smash

A mashed foodstuff.

Hit

To ignite a mixture of air and fuel in the cylinders. Used of an internal-combustion engine.

Smash

A kind of julep cocktail containing chunks of fresh fruit that can be eaten after finishing the drink.

Hit

A collision or impact.

Smash

Airspeed; dynamic pressure.

Hit

A successfully executed shot, blow, thrust, or throw.

Smash

(transitive) To break (something brittle) violently.
The demolition team smashed the buildings to rubble.
The flying rock smashed the window to pieces.

Hit

(Sports) A deliberate collision with an opponent, such as a body check in ice hockey.

Smash

(intransitive) To be destroyed by being smashed.
The crockery smashed as it hit the floor.

Hit

A successful or popular venture
A Broadway hit.

Smash

(transitive) To hit extremely hard.
He smashed his head against the table.
Bonds smashed the ball 467 feet, the second longest home run in the history of the park.

Hit

A match of data in a search string against data that one is searching.

Smash

To ruin completely and suddenly.
The news smashed any hopes of a reunion.

Hit

A connection made to a website over the internet or another network
Our company's website gets about 250,000 hits daily.

Smash

To defeat overwhelmingly; to gain a comprehensive success over.
The Indians smashed the Yankees 22-0.
I really smashed that English exam.

Hit

An apt or effective remark.

Smash

To deform through continuous pressure.
I slowly smashed the modeling clay flat with the palm of my hand.

Hit

Abbr. H(Baseball) A base hit.

Smash

To have sexual intercourse with.
Would you smash her?

Hit

A dose of a narcotic drug.

Smash

To break in pieces by violence; to dash to pieces; to crush.
Here everything is broken and smashed to pieces.

Hit

A puff of a cigarette or a pipe.

Smash

To hit (the ball) from above the level of the net with a very hard overhand stroke.

Hit

(Slang) A murder planned and carried out usually by a member of an underworld syndicate.

Smash

To break up, or to pieces suddenly, as the result of collision or pressure.

Hit

To strike.

Smash

A breaking or dashing to pieces; utter destruction; wreck.

Hit

(transitive) To administer a blow to, directly or with a weapon or missile.
One boy hit the other.

Smash

Hence, bankruptcy.

Hit

(transitive) To come into contact with forcefully and suddenly.
The ball hit the fence.

Smash

A vigorous blow;
The sudden knock floored him
He took a bash right in his face
He got a bang on the head

Hit

(intransitive) To strike against something.

Smash

A serious collision (especially of motor vehicles)

Hit

(transitive) To activate a button or key by pressing and releasing it.
Hit the Enter key to continue.

Smash

A hard return hitting the tennis ball above your head

Hit

To kill a person, usually on the instructions of a third party.
Hit him tonight and throw the body in the river.

Smash

The act of colliding with something;
His crash through the window
The fullback's smash into the defensive line

Hit

To attack, especially amphibiously.
If intelligence had been what it should have been, I don't think we'd ever have hit that island.

Smash

A conspicuous success;
That song was his first hit and marked the beginning of his career
That new Broadway show is a real smasher
The party went with a bang

Hit

To affect someone, as if dealing a blow to that person.
Their coffee really hits the spot.
I used to listen to that song all the time, but it hits different(ly) now.

Smash

Hit hard;
He smashed a 3-run homer

Hit

To manage to touch (a target) in the right place.
I hit the jackpot.

Smash

Break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over;
Smash a plate

Hit

To switch on.
Somebody's been here! Hit the lights!

Smash

Reduce to bankruptcy;
My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!
The slump in the financial markets smashed him

Hit

To briefly visit.
We hit the grocery store on the way to the park.

Smash

Hit violently;
She smashed her car against the guard rail

Hit

To encounter an obstacle or other difficulty.
We hit a lot of traffic coming back from the movies.

Smash

Humiliate or depress completely;
She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation
The death of her son smashed her

Hit

(heading) To attain, to achieve.

Smash

Damage or destroy as if by violence;
The teenager banged up the car of his mother

Hit

To reach or achieve.
The movie hits theaters in December.
The temperature could hit 110°F tomorrow.
We hit Detroit at one in the morning but kept driving through the night.

Smash

Hit (a tennis ball) in a powerful overhead stroke

Hit

(intransitive) To meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, often by luck.

Smash

Collide or strike violently and suddenly;
The motorcycle smashed into the guard rail

Hit

To guess; to light upon or discover.

Smash

Overthrow or destroy (something considered evil or harmful);
The police smashed the drug ring after they were tipped off

Hit

(transitive) To affect negatively.
The economy was hit by a recession.
The hurricane hit his fishing business hard.

Smash

Break suddenly into pieces, as from a violent blow;
The window smashed

Hit

(metaphorically) To attack.

Smash

With a loud crash;
The car went smash through the fence

Hit

To make a play.

Hit

In blackjack, to deal a card to.
Hit me.

Hit

To come up to bat.
Jones hit for the pitcher.

Hit

(backgammon) To take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; said of a single unprotected piece on a point.

Hit

To use; to connect to.
The external web servers hit DBSRV7, but the internal web server hits DBSRV3.

Hit

To have sex with.
I'd hit that!

Hit

To inhale an amount of smoke from a narcotic substance, particularly marijuana.

Hit

(of an exercise) to affect, to work a body part.
This is another great exercise which hits the long head.

Hit

To work out
With that said, the group hitting their legs just once a week still made gains.

Hit

A blow; a punch; a striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
The hit was very slight.

Hit

Something very successful, such as a song, film, or video game, that receives widespread recognition and acclaim.

Hit

An attack on a location, person or people.

Hit

A collision of a projectile with the target.

Hit

In the game of Battleship, a correct guess at where one's opponent ship is.

Hit

A match found by searching a computer system or search engine

Hit

(Internet) A measured visit to a web site, a request for a single file from a web server.
My site received twice as many hits after being listed in a search engine.

Hit

An approximately correct answer in a test set.

Hit

(baseball) The complete play, when the batter reaches base without the benefit of a walk, error, or fielder’s choice.
The catcher got a hit to lead off the fifth.

Hit

(colloquial) A dose of an illegal or addictive drug.
Where am I going to get my next hit?

Hit

A premeditated murder done for criminal or political purposes.

Hit

(dated) A peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark.
A happy hit

Hit

(backgammon) A move that throws one of the opponent's men back to the entering point.

Hit

(backgammon) A game won after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts for less than a gammon.

Hit

Very successful.
The band played their hit song to the delight of the fans.

Hit

(dialectal) It.

Hit

It.

Hit

To reach with a stroke or blow; to strike or touch, usually with force; especially, to reach or touch (an object aimed at).
I think you have hit the mark.

Hit

To reach or attain exactly; to meet according to the occasion; to perform successfully; to attain to; to accord with; to be conformable to; to suit.
Birds learning tunes, and their endeavors to hit the notes right.
There you hit him; . . . that argument never fails with him.
Whose saintly visage is too brightTo hit the sense of human sight.
He scarcely hit my humor.

Hit

To guess; to light upon or discover.

Hit

To take up, or replace by a piece belonging to the opposing player; - said of a single unprotected piece on a point.

Hit

To meet or come in contact; to strike; to clash; - followed by against or on.
If bodies be extension alone, how can they move and hit one against another?
Corpuscles, meeting with or hitting on those bodies, become conjoined with them.

Hit

To meet or reach what was aimed at or desired; to succeed, - often with implied chance, or luck.
And oft it hitsWhere hope is coldest and despair most fits.
And millions miss for one that hits.

Hit

A striking against; the collision of one body against another; the stroke that touches anything.
So he the famed Cilician fencer praised,And, at each hit, with wonder seems amazed.

Hit

A stroke of success in an enterprise, as by a fortunate chance; as, he made a hit;
What late he called a blessing, now was wit,And God's good providence, a lucky hit.

Hit

A peculiarly apt expression or turn of thought; a phrase which hits the mark; as, a happy hit.

Hit

A game won at backgammon after the adversary has removed some of his men. It counts less than a gammon.

Hit

A striking of the ball; as, a safe hit; a foul hit; - sometimes used specifically for a base hit.

Hit

An act of murder performed for hire, esp. by a professional assassin.

Hit

(baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball);
He came all the way around on Williams' hit

Hit

The act of contacting one thing with another;
Repeated hitting raised a large bruise
After three misses she finally got a hit

Hit

A conspicuous success;
That song was his first hit and marked the beginning of his career
That new Broadway show is a real smasher
The party went with a bang

Hit

(physics) an brief event in which two or more bodies come together;
The collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change of direction

Hit

A dose of a narcotic drug

Hit

A murder carried out by an underworld syndicate;
It has all the earmarks of a Mafia hit

Hit

A connection made via the internet to another website;
WordNet gets many hits from users worldwide

Hit

Cause to move by striking;
Hit a ball

Hit

Hit against; come into sudden contact with;
The car hit a tree
He struck the table with his elbow

Hit

Affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely;
We were hit by really bad weather
He was stricken with cancer when he was still a teenager
The earthquake struck at midnight

Hit

Deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument;
He hit her hard in the face

Hit

Reach a destination, either real or abstract;
We hit Detroit by noon
The water reached the doorstep
We barely made it to the finish line
I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts

Hit

Reach a point in time, or a certain state or level;
The thermometer hit 100 degrees
This car can reach a speed of 140 miles per hour

Hit

Hit with a missile from a weapon

Hit

Cause to experience suddenly;
Panic struck me
An interesting idea hit her
A thought came to me
The thought struck terror in our minds
They were struck with fear

Hit

Make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target;
The Germans struck Poland on Sept. 1, 1939
We must strike the enemy's oil fields
In the fifth inning, the Giants struck, sending three runners home to win the game 5 to 2

Hit

Hit the intended target or goal

Hit

Produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments, also metaphorically;
The pianist strikes a middle C
Strike `z' on the keyboard
Her comments struck a sour note

Hit

Encounter by chance;
I stumbled across a long-lost cousin last night in a restaurant

Hit

Gain points in a game;
The home team scored many times
He hit a home run
He hit .300 in the past season

Hit

Consume to excess;
Hit the bottle

Hit

Kill intentionally and with premeditation;
The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered

Hit

Drive something violently into a location;
He hit his fist on the table
She struck her head on the low ceiling

Hit

Pay unsolicited and usually unwanted sexual attention to;
He tries to hit on women in bars

Common Curiosities

What does it mean to smash something?

To break something into pieces with great force, often causing destruction.

What is the difference in sound implications between smash and hit?

Smash implies a louder, more destructive sound, while hit can have varied sound implications.

How are smash and hit used in music?

Smash refers to massive, often sudden success of a song or album, while hit can refer to any level of success.

Does hit always imply violence?

No, hit can simply mean to make contact and does not always carry a violent connotation.

What does it mean when a film is a smash hit?

It means the film was extremely successful, often unexpectedly so.

Can something be a hit without being a smash in the entertainment industry?

Yes, hits can range from moderate to great success, not all of which are as dramatic as smashes.

Is the intent always destructive when someone says they smashed something?

Typically, yes, smashing usually implies a destructive intent.

Can hit imply success like smash?

Yes, hit can also denote success, particularly in the context of songs, movies, or other media.

Can smash and hit be used interchangeably in sports?

No, smash is specific to actions like forceful strokes in tennis or badminton, whereas hit is more generally used to describe any contact in sports.

How does the intent differ between smash and hit?

Smash often has a destructive intent, whereas hit may not involve an intent to destroy.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Tayyaba Rehman
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat

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