smoke machine
Americannoun
-
a device that produces dense vapor, often for a theatrical or effect.
-
something designed to obscure or distract from an issue or situation.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Using up the festival's entire smoke machine budget, she was alone on stage all night, but in constant motion - a mesmerising blur of hip-rolls, hair tosses, stomach crunches and knee-drops.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2025
At the film’s first public screening, which drew about 400 people, a smoke machine blew softly overhead, creating fog reminiscent of the pouring rain outside.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
And again at 6:56, when he sprinted through the smoke machine, again the last man out just prior to the introduction of starters.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 10, 2023
He was holding a sound board, overzealously tapping his index finger on a red, doomsday-like button that activated a smoke machine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
The flashing lights and smoke machine make it hard to see.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
