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.

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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

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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

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 EPA proposal could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using a technology that has long been promised but is not used widely in the United States.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 29, 2024

Historically, Southern California has been plagued by smog, which forms when the region’s persistent sunlight interacts with vehicle exhaust and smokestack emissions.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2024

We stood at the end of the fallen smokestack and stared at the trains coming and going.

From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• industrialized
• mechanical
• modern
• technical