Definition of "smother" [smoth•er]

• To suffocate (another). (verb-transitive)
• To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion. (verb-transitive)
• To conceal, suppress, or hide: Management smothered the true facts of the case. We smothered our indignation and pressed onward. (verb-transitive)
• To cover thickly: smother chicken in sauce. (verb-transitive)
• To lavish a surfeit of a given emotion on (someone): The grandparents smothered the child with affection. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Aucamp said the decision was in contrast to one taken by the ANC's parliamentary caucus, which had abused its majority to "smother" the allegations against Yengeni in the ethics committee."
• "Syrens whooped, steam whistles shrieked hoarsely; the raucous voices of fog-horns proclaimed the whereabouts of scores of craft, passing up and down the river; but the trim-built barge slid noiselessly along, ghost-like, in the dun-colored "smother," giving no intimation of her proximity."
• "Here were plenty of smoke, plenty of "smother," and a few flames in the corner, but no one knew what might be the end of the business, and we were all prepared to march on to the breezy Parade should the fire gain too much sway over the premises."