smokestack

American  

[smohk-stak] / ˈsmoʊkˌstæk /

noun

1. Also called stack.  a pipe for the escape of the smoke or gases of combustion, as on a steamboat, locomotive, or building.

---

adjective

1. pertaining to, engaged in, or dependent on a basic heavy industry, as steel or automaking.

   smokestack companies.

smokestack British  

/ ˈsməʊkˌstæk /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: stack.  a tall chimney that conveys smoke into the air

---

Etymology

Origin of smokestack

First recorded in 1855–60; smoke + stack

Explanation

The chimney on top of a factory or a ship can be called a smokestack. If you look at Google Images for the word "pollution," you'll see lots of pictures of smokestacks spewing thick, gray smoke. The main difference between the words chimney and smokestack is that you're more likely to call the flue on top of your house a chimney, saving smokestack for more industrial uses. Steam locomotives used smokestacks to release smoke and steam — the exhaust from the train's smokebox. Without the smokestack, the pressure would become dangerously high inside the train, causing it to explode.

Example Sentences

“They’re going to look like an Amazon distribution warehouse; there’s no smokestack and massive tailings pond next to it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

The photo emulates the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album photo, but replaces the London streets with the city’s Santa Fe smokestack and rail yard.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025

And we're going to put a smokestack filter on top of your smokestack so you don't pollute there and give everybody cancer.

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2025

The copper smelt operated for nearly 100 years, its smokestack spewing high levels of arsenic, lead and other contaminants, which settled into the soil of surrounding neighborhoods.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 30, 2023

Scarcely breathing, I sat beside a smokestack and watched.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz

Related Words

• industrialized
• mechanical
• modern
• technical