chemtrail

American  

[kem-treyl] / ˈkɛmˌtreɪl /

noun

1. an alleged type of long-lasting contrail speculated to be purposefully impregnated, for covert purposes, with chemical or biological agents.

---

Etymology

Origin of chemtrail

First recorded in 1985–90; chem(ical) ( def. ) + trail ( def. ), modeled on contrail ( def. )

Example Sentences

Tune in for the alien angle, or the chemtrail pitch after the weather.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2025

But the idea evolved along the way, meaning today there are several strands of the chemtrail theory.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2022

When Williamson talks about poisoning our environment with chemicals that are harmful to human health, she’s not talking about some kind of chemtrail conspiracy.

From Slate • Aug. 2, 2019

It’s less a polemic than a series of fascinating and sometimes tangential stories about technology, tying together everything from chemtrail conspiracies to Google’s eerie DeepDream computer vision project.

From The Verge • Apr. 23, 2018

One photo pictured a contrail broken by a gap, which some chemtrail believers argue reflects that chemical spraying was turned off, then on again.

From The Guardian • May 22, 2017