smöra

Swedish

Etymology

smör (“butter”) +‎ -a

Verb

smöra (present smörar, preterite smörade, supine smörat, imperative smöra)

1. (colloquial) to flatter; to suck up

   Han smörade för chefen

   He sucked up to his boss

2. to butter (a baking sheet or the like)

Usage notes

• The target of the sucking up follows the preposition för.
• Idiomatically, breda (or more commonly the apocopic form bre) is used rather than smöra for buttering a sandwich. In an expanded sense, "att bre en macka/smörgås" also means to make a (buttered) sandwich, including adding any toppings or fillings.

Conjugation

Conjugation of smöra (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	smöra		smöras
supine	smörat		smörats
imperative	smöra		—
imper. plural1	smören		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	smörar	smörade	smöras	smörades
ind. plural1	smöra	smörade	smöras	smörades
subjunctive2	smöre	smörade	smöres	smörades
present participle		smörande
past participle		smörad

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

See also

• breda (“to spread”)
• smickra (“to flatter”)

References

• smöra in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• smöra in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)