Smaug is the fictional dragon in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit.
Smaug occupies the Lonely Mountain and guards the treasure that once belonged to the Dwarves of Erebor. Thorin Oakenshield and his company seek to reclaim the mountain, and Bilbo Baggins enters Smaug’s lair as their burglar. Their conversations are among the book’s most memorable scenes.
Bilbo discovers that Smaug has a vulnerable area on his underside and later tells this information to Bard of Lake-town. Bard uses a black arrow to kill the dragon during Smaug’s attack on Lake-town. The dragon’s death changes the political balance around the mountain and helps trigger the Battle of the Five Armies.
Smaug is sometimes mixed up with Tolkien’s other dragons. Glaurung and Ancalagon belong chiefly to the older First Age legends, while Scatha is another dragon from Middle-earth’s history. Smaug is specifically the central dragon of The Hobbit.