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Synonyms

smoke out

British  

verb

  1. to subject to smoke in order to drive out of hiding

  2. to bring into the open; expose to the public

    they smoked out the plot
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
smoke out Idioms  

  1. Expose, reveal, bring to public view, as in Reporters thrive on smoking out a scandal. This expression alludes to driving a person or animal out of a hiding place by filling it with smoke. [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Police and firefighters fenced off the area and a beekeeper was called in to smoke out the bees - a safe way to calm the insects.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

And just about any new building is better than an old building in a wildfire, since better insulation and ventilation can keep the smoke out.

From Slate • Jan. 14, 2025

Otis blew smoke out of his nose, admiring his own muscular arms.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2024

Western Washington winds will also help push the smoke out to the eastern side of the Cascades, Cook said.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 26, 2023

My mother burned rags soaked in the stuff to smoke out the mosquitoes when they got thick.

From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.