- 1[uncountable] the gray, white, or black gas that is produced by something burning cigarette smoke Clouds of thick black smoke billowed from the car's exhaust.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- 2[countable, usually singular] (informal) an act of smoking a cigarette Are you coming outside for a smoke?
- 1to be completely burned The whole house went up in smoke.
- 2if your plans, hopes, etc. go up in smoke, they fail completely Hopes of an early end to the dispute have gone up in smoke.
a decision that people describe as being made in a smoke-filled room is made by a small group of people at a private meeting, rather than in an open and democratic way
if something bad is being said about someone or something, it usually has some truth in it
Check pronunciation: smoke