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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Dark smoke rose from the front of the vessel, which was loaded with methanol and sailing in the Persian Gulf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
"We've been there since the beginning," Goncalves said in the carbonised town of Le Porge, which has seen some 12 percent of its buildings go up in smoke.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
A column of black smoke rose over the Miramar air station early Friday, according to images captured on Alert California cameras, but the fire appeared to dissipate quickly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Video has shown thick plumes of smoke rising at the scene of a heathland blaze where a major incident has been declared.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
That squat concrete building, that smoke disappearing in the bright sunlight—no!
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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 fire has been visible on the mainland and crews from across England's south coast have been to the island to assist with the operation.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
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 exited her nostrils in two thin streams.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
The son of a Yorkshire pig farmer, Brown smokes on the course - although is being extremely vigilant not to cause a fire-risk at Birkdale - and is covered in tattoos.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
It was that moment where I’m like, holy smokes, in three months that number has shot up and we can’t be passively thinking that this is all going to align.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 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
An unlit sign atop a building two blocks away reads, Berlin smokes Junos.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
His team created deli-style versions of some of his breakfast menu, including Earl Grey prunes and crumpets with smoked trout.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 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
When the author was diagnosed with throat cancer despite having never smoked, he wasn’t surprised.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Chef and co-owner Danny Castillo has earned national acclaim for his Texas-style smoked brisket, chickens, sausages and other meats informed by the ethnic backgrounds of his crew — white, Mexican, Argentine, Filipino and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Sure, at college some of the fellows walked around with pipes they never smoked and books they never read to impress girls or what have you.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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
We’re protective of what the world sees Cuba as, whether it’s the old ladies smoking cigars, or the American cause.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
O’Regan said he didn’t think there was just “one smoking gun” driving the declines.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 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.
