smoke

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [U] the grey, white or black gas that is produced by sth burning: cigarette smoke * Clouds of thick black smoke billowed from the car's exhaust. * a smoke alarm / detector (= a device that makes a noise if smoke is in the air to warn you of a fire) 2 [C,usually sing.] (informal) an act of smoking a cigarette: Are you coming outside for a smoke? IDIOMS go up in smoke 1 to be completely burnt: The whole house went up in smoke. 2 if your plans, hopes, etc. go up in smoke, they fail completely: Hopes of an early end to the dispute have gone up in smoke. (there is) no smoke without fire (BrE) (AmE where there's smoke, there's fire) (saying) if sth bad is being said about sb/sth, it usually has some truth in it a smoke-filled room (disapproving) 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 verb 1 to suck smoke from a cigarette, pipe, etc. into your mouth and let it out again: [VN] He was smoking a large cigar. * How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? * [V] Do you mind if I smoke? 2 [V] to use cigarettes, etc. in this way as a habit: Do you smoke? * She smokes heavily. * I've never smoked. * You're too young to smoke. * He smokes like a chimney (= a lot). 3 [V] to produce smoke: smoking factory chimneys * the smoking remains of burnt-out cars * This fireplace smokes badly (= sends smoke into the room instead of up the chimney). 4 [VN] [usuallypassive] to preserve meat or fish by hanging it in smoke from wood fires to give it a special taste: smoked salmon / mackerel / cheese PHRASALVERBS smoke sb/sth<->out 1 to force sb/sth to come out of a place by filling it with smoke: to smoke out wasps from a nest 2 to take action to discover where sb is hiding or to make a secret publicly known: The police are determined to smoke out the leaders of the gang.