cigarette
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cigarette
Explanation
A small tube of paper that's filled with tobacco and lit with a match is a cigarette. Because cigarettes take a terrible toll on smokers' health, the number of people who smoke them has declined recently. Most cigarettes come in packages, each cigarette a perfect slim cylinder topped with a filter. When a cigarette is smoked all the way to this filter, it becomes a "butt." The main chemical in cigarettes is called nicotine, and it's extremely addictive — other additives in cigarettes can cause various cancers and lung diseases. Because of these dangers, cigarettes are regulated and highly taxed. The word itself comes from the French, meaning "little cigar."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These included the Sarimukti Landfill in Bandung Regency, which torched dozens of hectares of land, and was suspected of having been caused by cigarette butts and a buildup of methane gas.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Taylor Swift fans have paid $25 for pieces of trash -- including cigarette butts and an ovulation test kit -- collected near the US pop queen's wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Electrical equipment, unattended camp fires, cigarette butts and arson have rapidly increased the interval of fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Listening to “The Boutique,” I feel like I should be smoking a cigarette and drinking the dirtiest martini known to man in a speakeasy, wearing a drop waist silk dress and bright red lipstick.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Here Franny made the mistake of giving a little exhalation of impatience—she had just inhaled cigarette smoke.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
PMI doesn’t sell any cigarettes in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The French government has argued that it is relying on similar principles that underline regulations on advertisements for alcohol or cigarettes, said Violland.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
They were initially promoted as a potentially safer alternative to conventional cigarettes and as a tool to help people quit smoking.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026
He doesn’t partake in alcohol, coffee, or cigarettes, so it’s not like he has something else to provide a pick-me-up.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Cloke Rayburn was at its center, all bored smiles and sleepy eyes and cigarettes.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.