cigarette

American  

[sig-uh-ret, sig-uh-ret] / ˌsɪg əˈrɛt, ˈsɪg əˌrɛt /

Or cigaret

noun

• cigarettes
  plural

1. a cylindrical roll of finely cut tobacco cured for smoking, considerably smaller than most cigars and usually wrapped in thin white paper.

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cigarette British  

/ ˌsɪɡəˈrɛt /

noun

1. Shortened forms: cig, ciggy. a short tightly rolled cylinder of tobacco, wrapped in thin paper and often having a filter tip, for smoking

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anticigarette
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cigarettes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cigarette

1820–30; < French, equivalent to cigare cigar + -ette -ette

Explanation

A small tube of paper that's filled with tobacco and lit with a match is a cigarette. Because cigarettes take a terrible toll on smokers' health, the number of people who smoke them has declined recently. Most cigarettes come in packages, each cigarette a perfect slim cylinder topped with a filter. When a cigarette is smoked all the way to this filter, it becomes a "butt." The main chemical in cigarettes is called nicotine, and it's extremely addictive — other additives in cigarettes can cause various cancers and lung diseases. Because of these dangers, cigarettes are regulated and highly taxed. The word itself comes from the French, meaning "little cigar."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cigarette cigarettes

In 1904, Yale football captain James Hogan received a luxury apartment at the University Club, a commission on cigarette sales at football games and a 10-day vacation in Cuba.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Venus's clouds may behave according to a similar optical principle because their particle size distribution is comparable to that of cigarette smoke.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

"This has gone from a FPN for throwing a cigarette butt down - I've never touched a cigarette in my life - to getting a criminal conviction without even knowing," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

I said, “Why don’t you stick to the cigarette over your head, and I’ll handle this?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The red ember of his cigarette glowed in the darkness.

From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz

"Protecting young people is essential. But that means stronger enforcement against illegal and rogue traders, not making legal vaping more expensive for adults trying to stay away from cigarettes."

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Perhaps the most famous case is the designer Pierre Cardin, who slapped his name on everything from cigarettes to bicycles with disastrous results.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The illegal production of cigarettes is rising as a whole in the EU, as poor coordination between countries is helping counterfeiters thrive, an official report said on Tuesday.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

Politicians and activists pushing for safety changes have compared the addictive nature of social media to gambling and smoking cigarettes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Two other working men—grim-faced and with hand-rolled cigarettes between their lips—leave the lineup.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Related Words

• smoke