chewing tobacco

American  

noun

1. tobacco, in the form of a plug, usually flavored, for chewing rather than smoking.

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Etymology

Origin of chewing tobacco

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Example Sentences

With his shaved head and teeth stained by chewing tobacco, he evoked a throwback-style correspondent image and delighted in regaling others with stories from the field.

From Washington Post • Jan. 4, 2023

On an ordinary day, the gridlocked streets emit a mix of noisy, vibrant sights and sounds - vendors chewing tobacco, cows curled against doorways and shops doing brisk business as motorcycles zigzag through the crowd.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2022

One New York state health department report from 1888 says that sugar, licorice, molasses, and glycerin were added to smoking and chewing tobacco in hopes of improving the taste.

From Slate • May 14, 2021

He arrived so shortly after Mr. Hall’s execution that, he told his attorneys, he could still smell Mr. Hall’s chewing tobacco lingering there.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2020

A third cousin of Papa’s, Hopewell Stump, from out in Banks County, clerked and took care of the chickens that folks brought to trade out for nails, flour, sugar, coal oil, coffee, and chewing tobacco.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns