smoggy

American  

[smog-ee, smaw-gee] / ˈsmɒg i, ˈsmɔ gi /

adjective

smoggier, smoggiest

1. full of or characterized by smog.

---

Etymology

Origin of smoggy

First recorded in 1925–30; smog + -y ¹

Explanation

If something is smoggy, it's hazy with a smoky kind of fog. On a smoggy day, you can see the pollution in the air. Smoggy air is full of smog, a word that comes from combining smoke and fog. The term was invented in the early 1900s to describe an unfortunate weather phenomenon first noted in London, where "pea soup fog" was a serious problem for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today's smoggy cities get their smog from different sources—instead of coal fires, for example, smoggy pollution is mainly caused by cars.

Example Sentences

The notoriously smoggy air of Mexico City has gotten much clearer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

Authorities once again issued an alert on Friday, a common occurrence on smoggy winter days, with cleaner air expected by Sunday.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

On a recent smoggy morning, the hulking San Bernardino Mountains veiled by a gray-brown haze, Eric Lawson paused to offer his thoughts.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2025

She admits she used to be a smoker, and she grew up in post-war London's smoggy East End, but she believes her breathing conditions have been exacerbated and hastened by where she lives now.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2025

Now, on hot, smoggy summer days, visibility can be as little as two miles and never more than thirty.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson