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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Drainages are natural low-lying areas of land that can gather hot air and smoke and then generate intense drafts that drive a fire uphill with dangerous speeds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
That means countries that experience could be increasingly affected by smoke traveling long distances.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
There was smoke and embers blowing in the wind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
After burning at least 1,000 acres, officials also issued a smoke advisory for the surrounding area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Before I knew it, the house was full of smoke.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Smoke still hangs in the air, although it is easier to breathe than the previous evening, when the acrid smell of fire spread across Bordeaux.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Smoke from the wildfire can now be seen 59 miles away in Aberdeen following a change in wind direction.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Swift has two albums in the top 10, which also includes records by Sabrina Carpenter, Noah Kahan, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, SZA and late US rapper Pop Smoke.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Smoke from wildfires in Ontario, Canada, has blanketed much of the Midwest and Northeast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Smoke clouds billowed from the floor, making donut-shaped rings that smelled like real donuts.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Sander does not romanticize, valorize or flatter them: The even lighting comes from an overcast sky; they are dressed in dark suits and hats, one smokes a cigarette, and each sports a cane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
In 2013, the Scottish government set a target of achieving a "tobacco-free" Scotland by 2034 in which no more than 5% of the population smokes,
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 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
This layer channels that same instinct — and then smokes it up a notch.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2025
“And yet, Mademoiselle, we found a pipe cleaner on the floor of the dead man’s compartment. And Colonel Arbuthnot is the only man on the train who smokes a pipe?”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
"It would be like smoked ham," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I’m just smoked, Sar’n,” he explained to his team leader, who shot back, “You don’t have the right to be smoked here.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 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
Burgers are the obvious choice, but smoked meatloaf stuffed with cheese is mostly hands-off and packs a hell of a punch.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026
My father rolled a Bull Durham cigarette and smoked.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
People who lift weights may be healthier in other ways, though the researchers adjusted for many such factors, including diet, smoking and aerobic activity.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
A recent strike on one of its warehouses—among the largest such facilities in Russia—left behind a smoking husk roughly the size of New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Backed up by around a dozen volunteers, a small team of firefighters water-lanced the last patches of smoking earth nearby.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Two people involved in the firefighting operation walk across a scorched, smoking hillside at Ryvoan, Abernethy, on 19 July.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
In addition, once the fire died down, Stone Age entrepreneurs could walk through the smoking remains and harvest charcoaled animals, nuts and tubers.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
