the visible vapor and gases given off by a burning or smoldering substance, especially the gray, brown, or blackish mixture of gases and suspended carbon particles resulting from the combustion of wood, peat, coal, or other organic matter.
something resembling this, as vapor or mist, flying particles, etc.
something unsubstantial, evanescent, or without result.
Their hopes and dreams proved to be smoke.
an obscuring condition.
the smoke of controversy.
an act or spell of smoking something, especially tobacco.
They had a smoke during the intermission.
something for smoking, as a cigar or cigarette.
This is the best smoke on the market.
Slang. marijuana.
Slang. a homemade drink consisting of denatured alcohol and water.
Physics, Chemistry. a system of solid particles suspended in a gaseous medium.
a bluish or brownish gray color.
to give off or emit smoke, as in burning.
to give out smoke offensively or improperly, as a stove.
to send forth steam or vapor, dust, or the like.
to draw into the mouth and puff out the smoke of tobacco or the like, as from a pipe or cigarette.
Slang. to ride or travel with great speed.
Australian.
to flee.
to abscond.
to draw into the mouth and puff out the smoke of.
to smoke tobacco.
to use (a pipe, cigarette, etc.) in this process.
to expose to smoke.
to fumigate (rooms, furniture, etc.).
to cure (meat, fish, etc.) by exposure to smoke.
to color or darken by smoke.
the product of combustion, consisting of fine particles of carbon carried by hot gases and air
any cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas
the act of smoking tobacco or other substances, esp in a pipe or as a cigarette or cigar
the duration of smoking such substances
informal
a cigarette or cigar
a substance for smoking, such as pipe tobacco or marijuana
something with no concrete or lasting substance
everything turned to smoke
a thing or condition that obscures
any of various colours similar to that of smoke, esp a dark grey with a bluish, yellowish, or greenish tinge
to come to nothing
to burn up vigorously
to flare up in anger
(intr) to emit smoke or the like, sometimes excessively or in the wrong place
to draw in on (a burning cigarette, etc) and exhale the smoke
to use tobacco for smoking
slang (intr) to use marijuana for smoking
(tr) to bring (oneself) into a specified state by smoking
(tr) to subject or expose to smoke
(tr) to cure (meat, fish, cheese, etc) by treating with smoke
(tr) to fumigate or purify the air of (rooms, etc)
(tr) to darken (glass, etc) by exposure to smoke
slang (intr) to move, drive, ride, etc, very fast
obsolete (tr) to tease or mock
archaic (tr) to suspect or detect
before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English smoca; (v.) Middle English smoken, Old English smocian
The hazy gray cloud that floats in the air when something burns is smoke. Smoke is made up of tiny carbon particles. If you get lost in the woods, you can use the smoke from your campfire to guide you back to your tent — or you can just use the GPS on your smartphone. The saying "where there's smoke there's fire” means that there's always a reason for a rumor. The saying is literally true as well—when you set something on fire, it will begin to smoke. When something "goes up in smoke," it's either destroyed by fire or ruined as though it's been burned: "My dreams of being a magician went up in smoke after that rabbit trick went awry."
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But as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
It also comes after smoke from raging wildfires in Canada drifted into the U.S., blanketing cities including New York, Chicago and Washington.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Neither rain nor smoke nor heat can keep the Dodgers from their appointed October rounds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The largest fire, in Ontario, has forced mass evacuations and spread smoke as far as the US East Coast.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
“It smells like smoke and iron. There’s hardly any magic in this land. I can barely catch a whiff of it.”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Smoke from wildfires in Ontario, Canada, has blanketed much of the Midwest and Northeast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Smoke from the wildfires also worsened air quality across the border in the United States, with Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire particularly impacted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Smoke from blazes in northwestern Ontario has filtered down to Toronto, the provincial capital.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Smoke, combined with high humidity, may cause visibility issues overnight, according to the AQMD, and ash could also fall in the area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Smoke curled up from the shore on the other side of the lagoon.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
And in a month, guess what, it’s there, and you’re gonna be like, ‘Holy smokes, I have it.’
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
One of L.A.’s pollution chiefs warned that “anyone who smokes a pipe, even, contributes to the smog menace.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Combined, they’ve caught about a dozen fish, which Livingstone cuts into steaks and Jordan smokes on his grill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
International sales of Cuban cigars, the island nation's most emblematic export, bring much needed income to its struggling economy, with Europe the main market for the luxury smokes.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
There smokes trailed on the ground and lurked in hollows, and fumes leaked from fissures in the earth.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Food trends columnist Adam Chandler profiled Lev Sercarz about cooking in this new era of American eating, and received suggestions for the best seasonings—from sumac to smoked salt—for spicing up even the simplest meals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The study also found that women under 50 who have never smoked develop lung cancer more often than men in the same age group.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sandra Champkins, from Banbury in Oxfordshire, had not smoked for a decade and was symptom-free when she was invited for a check-up by the Thames Valley Lung Cancer Screening Programme in 2025.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Among the mains, the pan-seared half chicken with smoked red curry and purple sticky rice was the standout.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
“I looked for the barrel of smoked meat, too. And baskets of dried oysters. Gone.”
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
When Volcker — who served so long ago that smoking was still allowed in the hearing room — didn’t like a line of questioning, he would disappear behind a large cloud of cigar smoke.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
"I think Joseph has found the smoking gun," Howell said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
And in a place like the United States, where everyone is in pursuit of power, walking around with a smoking gun puts a target on your back.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
His exploits were a talking point at a recent shipping conference in Athens, where he was seen smoking cigars at late-night parties surrounded by bodyguards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
A fog of cigar smoke enveloped us as we passed the gentlemen’s smoking room.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
