First recorded in 1915–20
First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And when they turned to humour, it was almost always self-directed: joking about the kilometres logged fleeing baton charges or the absurdity of filming an outfit reveal moments before running into tear gas.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Police in Kenya have fired tear gas to break up a protest in the central town of Nanyuki against the construction of an Ebola quarantine centre for US citizens.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
“John cleared a tear gas canister away from everyone,” Johnson said, pushing back on the government’s account and adding that tear gas had been deployed indiscriminately by law enforcement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Thousands gathered in the streets of the capital Islamabad, many holding photos of late Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, with AFP witnessing police deploy tear gas to disperse crowds near the US embassy.
From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026
In what is also known as the “Battle of Toledo,” sheriff’s deputies used tear gas and fire hoses against Electric Auto-Lite Company strikers.
From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell
“It’s a different thing to ask, ‘Will you show up to this protest, where police might come and tear-gas us?’ versus ‘We’re getting whistles. Do you think you could help us with some extra baggies?’
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2026
Officials said they had seized three tear-gas canisters and a blank rifle round during their searches of his home and office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2025
This prompted police to fire tear-gas cannisters to try and stop the procession, which affected traffic.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024
The announcement comes after Caputo, a former campaign aide to President Trump, faced criticism on Sunday for a series of aggressive, late-night tweets suggesting people tear-gas journalists and arguing with other users.
From Fox News ● Sep. 16, 2020
The gun rack, set between two of the eight windows, held a Remington shotgun, a Colt AR-15 assault rifle, a tear-gas gun, and many rounds of ammunition.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Mayor Ted Wheeler sided with protesters, at one point standing alongside black-clad demonstrators as they were tear-gassed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
The French government initially blamed Liverpool fans and fake tickets for the crowd chaos that led to supporters being tear-gassed and robbed.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2022
“Just got tear-gassed, but we’re good, baby, we’re good! We’re pushing forward now!”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2021
They were tear-gassed, so the women were joined by a line dads armed with leaf blowers to disperse the gas.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2020
Thackeray reminisced at length about being tear-gassed blind in the November 1969 antiwar protests in Washington Circle, covering them for her college paper.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Sterling, Bruce
“I actually think we could be promoting COVID-19 by tear-gassing protesters,” said Balmes.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 8, 2020
She oversaw punitive operations along the southern border that included the tear-gassing of hundreds of desperate would-be refugees near the San Ysidro border crossing.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2019
State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who represents Ferguson and live-tweeted her tear-gassing by police, is one of 10 Democrats outnumbered by 24 Republicans.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2014
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.
