smoggy

American  

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

adjective

smoggier, smoggiest

1. full of or characterized by smog.

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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

“You’ve probably noticed that the air looks smoggy today—that’s the particulate matter,” Cohan, the Rice University professor, said via email that day.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 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

California air regulators have long maintained that air quality issues in major California cities — including smoggy Los Angeles — are so severe that electric vehicles are necessary to meet pollution standards.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024

The mask and Delhi's smoggy air feature in other scenes of the film but are of little relevance to its plot.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2024

Both Emma and Charles found that London’s whirl of noise, dirt, crowds, and foggy, smoggy air was getting to be too much for them.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman