tobacco

American  

[tuh-bak-oh] / təˈbæk oʊ /

noun

plural

tobaccos, tobaccoes

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, especially one of those species, as N. tabacum, whose leaves are prepared for smoking or chewing or as snuff.

2. the prepared leaves, as used in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes.

3. any product or products made from such leaves.

4. any of various similar plants of other genera.

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tobacco British  

/ təˈbækəʊ /

noun

1. any of numerous solanaceous plants of the genus Nicotiana, having mildly narcotic properties, tapering hairy leaves, and tubular or funnel-shaped fragrant flowers. The species N. tabacum is cultivated as the chief source of commercial tobacco

2. the leaves of certain of these plants dried and prepared for snuff, chewing, or smoking

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Other Word Forms

• antitobacco adjective
• tobaccoless adjective

Etymology

Origin of tobacco

1525–35; < Spanish tabaco, perhaps < Arawak: a pipe for smoking the plant, or roll of leaves smoked, or the plant

Example Sentences

The WHO helped eradicate smallpox, established a framework that led to a dramatic worldwide reduction in tobacco use and helped control numerous pandemics, from Ebola to mpox to Zika.

From Salon

She was nervous about how a Black woman who had grown up on a tobacco farm would mix with the overwhelmingly white and male scientists at the center.

From The Wall Street Journal

Investors who bought tobacco companies in the early 2000s still made massive returns for the next two decades.

From MarketWatch

Many of the lawsuits filed against oil and gas giants by state and local authorities are modeled on successful legal actions taken against the tobacco industry in the 1990s.

From Barron's

The improvised prison pens—everything from old army barracks and training camps, barns and fairgrounds, derelict cotton warehouses and tobacco factories—were emptied out.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cigarette
• crop
• smoking