Smearing is a term used in rock climbing.

It is the practice of using the sole of a shoe against a flat rock face. This is opposed to 'edging', where one uses the sides of shoes on edges of rock, or 'hooking', that is, grabbing rock with the heel or toe (usually to stabilize body position). Smearing is an art of imperfection and is commonly used on a wall with large gaps between holds that are too large to do a Dyno on.