Smaug is a dragon in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Smaug occupies the Lonely Mountain, where he has driven out the Dwarves of Erebor and taken their treasure. His presence is the central danger of the novel’s quest, which sends Bilbo and Thorin Oakenshield’s company toward the mountain.
Tolkien presents Smaug as intelligent, proud, manipulative, and highly knowledgeable about treasure. Bilbo’s conversation with him is as important as their physical confrontation, because Bilbo learns about Smaug’s weakness and carefully avoids revealing his real identity.
The dragon’s vulnerable spot is a bare patch on the underside of his body. Bilbo notices it, and the information ultimately enables Bard the Bowman to kill Smaug with the Black Arrow. Smaug’s fall then triggers the Battle of the Five Armies.