smother

Spain’s formidable defense helped it smother a France team that looked invincible before wilting during a 2-0 World Cup semifinal loss Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

He said it took him five minutes to smother the flames with a fire blanket before he noticed his whole house was becoming enveloped in smoke.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Thick layers of dust smother giant grinding and pressing machines, while only a tiny crew of workers transfer the last batch made three weeks ago off snaking assembly lines and into trucks.

From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026

Rising land prices smother our ability to move, suppress fertility rates, stifle innovation, and hoover up resources that might be deployed elsewhere.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2025

My hand flew up to smother the small noise that came out of my mouth.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

L.A.’s heat-seeking “Showtime” franchise is obsessed over more than any other, in good times and especially troubled ones, to the point where it smothers other NBA coverage and drives many fans nuts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2025

Mr. Prigozhin frequently belittled General Gerasimov in his Telegram audio messages, implying that he was an office-bound official of the kind that smothers regular soldiers with bureaucracy.

From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

Also if a skater — not the goaltender — smothers the puck in the goal crease.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2022

As summer heat smothers the daytime, few can afford enough electricity to keep cool anyway.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2022

A surge of emotion smothers my words as I realize that everything I always wished Dad was for me, Coach has been all along.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Workers sweated in choking heat and pupils stayed home on Tuesday as an early-summer heatwave smothered much of Europe, sparking health warnings.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

McTominay hit the side-netting, Dykes headed over, McTominay had a shot smothered.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

He has added gold trim to the crown molding, smothered the walls with gold-framed artworks and gold-painted embellishments, placed inch-thick gold coasters on the desk, and lined up gold urns on the mantel.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

She whipped out her ranch and smothered her face and neck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

At evening, darkness gradually smothered the sun, until night fell upon the city.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

Ms. Cline inhabits his thoughts in close third-person and though she writes in the past tense, her narration evokes an intimate, sometimes smothering feeling of presentness—of being confined within David’s immediate consciousness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Some species may have acted as fire ladders, helping flames move through the landscape while also crowding out and smothering other vegetation.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

Spain clinched a berth to the final Tuesday by smothering France 2-0 at AT&T Stadium, running its unbeaten streak to 37 games while eliminating a team that had run roughshod through the tournament.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

"The soil itself absorbs heat. At the same time, it serves as a smothering method, removing the oxygen from the subsurface fire."

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

The chimneys of Swift’s packing plant stood tall against the sky, belching thick smoke that spread over Packingtown like a blanket, smothering the community below in the stench of blood.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield