Subscriber login
Password
Forgot your password?
Library card login
Login with Shibboleth® »
Login with Athens »
Close menu
Oxford Dictionaries Online
The world's most trusted dictionaries
About
Subscriber services
What's new
Contact us
Help
Subscribe now
Already a subscriber or in a subscribing organization?
Login
Dictionary
Other language resources
US English
World English
Dictionary
Better writing
World of words
Puzzles and games
For children and schools
For learners of English
Email
Cite
besmirch
(be|smirch)
Pronunciation:
/bɪˈsməːtʃ/
verb
[
with object
]
1
damage (someone’s reputation):
he had besmirched the good name of his family
2
literary
make (something) dirty or discoloured:
the ground was
besmirched with
blood
Nearby Words
Beschloss, Michael
beseech
beseem
beset
beshrew
beside
besides
besiege
besmear
besmirch
besom
besotted
besought
bespangle
bespatter
bespeak
bespectacled
bespoke
bespoken