Correct spelling, explanation: smooths is the third singular form of the base form smooth. The origin of the word, however, is unclear. According to some sources, smooths comes from an Old English word smoth. Nevertheless, smooths appeared in the form which we know today in Middle English and today it has the function of a verb.
Definition of smooths:
1. verb (3rd person singular) – to make something flat by moving your hand across it,
She smooths the blanket every time she sits on my sofa – it’s such an annoying habit of hers.
2. verb (3rd person singular) – to remove problems or difficulties,
Once she appears at our office, she smooths all the problems that have added up during the whole week.
3. verb (3rd person singular) – to rub something,
I love my massage therapist – the moment she smooths some oil in my back makes me fly high.
Phrasal verb with smooths:
A few phrasal verbs with smooths include:
1. smooths down something – to make something flat,
I hate my aunt, every time she sees me, she smooths down my hair, which makes it look awful.
2. smooths something out – to reduce the potential risks or difficulties,
She’s such a kind-hearted person that she smooths every conflict out that appears in our family.
3. smooths something away – to make difficulties smaller,
My father is so funny that he always smooths all my problems away.
Incorrect spelling, explanation: many English users make a mistake and spell smooths as smoothes. The latter form, however, is wrong as we add the -es ending to a verb only when it ends with e.g. s, z, ch, etc. as they are usually pronounced in a way that would make it difficult to pronounce them if only -s was added to it. Smooth ends with an -h letter so the only correct version is smooths.
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In seeking possible causes for the shift, I’ve looked at a number of dictionaries. In the case of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary series, the Tenth Edition (1994) begins its entry for the verb smooth as follows:
smooth vb smoothed; smoothing; smooths also smoothes …
No previous dictionary in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate series, dating back to the First Edition in 1898, makes any mention of either smooths or smoothes. The Eleventh Collegiate (2003) follows the Tenth’s wording.
In contrast, at least three editions of the American Heritage Dictionary—the First Edition edition (1973), the Third Edition (1992), and the Fourth Edition (2000)—give the related forms of the verb smooth as “smoothed, smoothing, smoothes,” as does the Encarta World English Dictionary (1999). A Q&A page at Microsoft Support reads as follows:
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