street smarts

plural noun

: the quality of being streetwise

Examples of street smarts in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web As Hernández Cordón pointed out, Calva straddles the line between his middle-class upbringing, raised by a single mother who instilled in him an affinity for the arts, and the street smarts attained by wandering a large metropolis with kids from other socioeconomic backgrounds. Carlos Aguilar, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2023 Kotick grew up in Roslyn, N.Y., and has the kind of Long Island street smarts that have helped many East Coast expats in Hollywood. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 31 May 2023 One example is Kenneth Roberson, who moved into 90 Sands last September and was a lively source of knowledge and street smarts for me throughout my research. Jennifer Egan, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 Lawrence was a fighter, had street smarts and a great sense of humor. Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 31 Aug. 2023 Rodriguez relied on Dwayne Claude Castle, 45, who had more street smarts, to fulfill a type of upper-management role directing daily operations. Beth Warren, The Courier-Journal, 17 Aug. 2023 Hill’s Catherine is a brash vulgarian with street smarts, whereas Morton’s has been tempered through years of heartache. Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 June 2023 Taking a stand against someone with greater organizational power and perhaps more street smarts requires determination and emotional strength. Lynne Curry | Alaska Workplace, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Mar. 2023 The Oxford dictionary denotes street smarts as the knowledge and experience to deal with the difficulties and dangers of life in the big city. Jon Michail, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'street smarts.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of street smarts was in 1966

Dictionary Entries Near street smarts

Cite this Entry

“Street smarts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/street%20smarts. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

street smarts

noun plural
: the quality of being streetwise

More from Merriam-Webster on street smarts

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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