Smoke n. 1.The visible exhalation, vapor, or substance that escapes, or expelled, from a burning body, especially from burning vegetable matter, as wood, coal, peat, or the like. Note: The gases of hydrocarbons, raised to a red heat or thereabouts, without a mixture of air enough to produce combustion, disengage their carbon in a fine powder, forming smoke. The disengaged carbon when deposited on solid bodies is soot.
2.That which resembles smoke; a vapor; a mist.
3.Anything unsubstantial, as idle talk.
4.The act of smoking, esp. of smoking tobacco; as, to have a smoke. (Colloq.) Note: Smoke is sometimes joined with other word. forming self-explaining compounds; as, smoke-consuming, smoke-dried, smoke-stained, etc.
Smoke arch, the smoke box of a locomotive.
Smoke ball (Mil.), a ball or case containing a composition which, when it burns, sends forth thick smoke.
Smoke black, lampblack. (Obs.)
Smoke board, a board suspended before a fireplace to prevent the smoke from coming out into the room.
Smoke box, a chamber in a boiler, where the smoke, etc., from the furnace is collected before going out at the chimney.
Smoke sail (Naut.), a small sail in the lee of the galley stovepipe, to prevent the smoke from annoying people on deck.
Smoke tree (Bot.), a shrub (Rhus Cotinus) in which the flowers are mostly abortive and the panicles transformed into tangles of plumose pedicels looking like wreaths of smoke.
To end in smoke, to burned; hence, to be destroyed or ruined; figuratively, to come to nothing.
Synonyms: Fume; reek; vapor.
