Smaug is the principal dragon antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Smaug is a fire-drake who seized the Lonely Mountain and its enormous hoard from the Dwarves of Erebor. Thorin Oakenshield and his companions return to reclaim their homeland, with Bilbo Baggins serving as the burglar in their company.
Bilbo enters the mountain and speaks with Smaug, learning that the dragon has a vulnerable, unarmored patch on his underside. Bilbo’s conversation also reveals his use of the riddle-like name “Barrel-rider.” After Smaug attacks Lake-town, Bard discovers the weak spot and kills him with the Black Arrow.
Smaug is distinct from Tolkien’s earlier dragons. Glaurung appears in The Silmarillion’s First Age stories, Ancalagon is a colossal dragon of the War of Wrath, and Scatha is a dragon from the histories of the Northmen. Smaug is the dragon most directly connected with the plot of The Hobbit.