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PlainSpell

smoke

/smoʊk/noun, verb

smoke is spelled S-M-O-K-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 47 times per million words in written English, the 2,153rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, smoke means “The visible vapor/vapour, gases, and fine particles given off by burning or smoldering material” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of smoke is smokes.

How many letters and syllables are in smoke?

Letters5: S-M-O-K-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing47 times per million words; the 2,153rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is smoke?

Smoke appears 47 times per million words in written English, the 2,153rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce smoke?

  • UK /sməʊk/
  • US /smoʊk/
  • Australia /sməʉk/

Smoke has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-smoke.wav, En-us-smoke.ogg, En-au-Smoke.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with smoke?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as smoke from its last stressed vowel (/oʊk/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of smoke

  • smokes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • smoking participle, present
  • smoked past, participle

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does smoke mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The visible vapor/vapour, gases, and fine particles given off by burning or smoldering material.

  2. 2

    colloquialA cigarette.

    Can I bum a smoke off you?

  3. 3

    colloquialAnything to smoke (e.g. cigarettes, marijuana, etc.)

    Hey, you got some smoke?

  4. 4

    colloquialAn instance of smoking a cigarette, cigar, etc.; the duration of this act.

    I'm going out for a smoke.

  5. 5

    A fleeting illusion; something insubstantial, evanescent, unreal, transitory, or without result.

    The excitement behind the new candidate proved to be smoke.

  6. 6

    Something used to obscure or conceal; an obscuring condition; see also smoke and mirrors.

    The smoke of controversy.

  7. 7

    A light grey color tinted with blue.

  8. 8

    slangBother, trouble; problems; hassle.

    You better not be giving me no smoke.

verb

  1. 1

    To inhale and exhale the smoke from a burning cigarette or cigar, burning material in a pipe, etc.

    He's smoking his pipe.

  2. 2

    To inhale and exhale tobacco smoke.

    Do you smoke?

  3. 3

    To give off smoke.

    My old truck was still smoking even after the repairs.

  4. 4

    Of a fire in a fireplace, to emit smoke outward instead of up the chimney, owing to imperfect draught.

  5. 5

    Of tobacco: to give off or produce smoke (in a certain manner or of a certain type).

  6. 6

    To preserve or prepare (food) for consumption by treating with smoke.

    You'll need to smoke the meat for several hours.

  7. 7

    To dry or medicate by smoke.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo fill or scent with smoke; hence, to fill with incense; to perfume.

noun

as Smoke
  1. 1

    Synonym of Burmilla.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Smoke in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchfumée (visible particles and vapour given off by…), clope (colloquial: cigarette), fumer (to inhale and exhale smoke from a burning…), descendre, buter (slang: to kill, especially with a gun)
GermanRauch, Qualm, Ràuich, Ràusch (visible particles and vapour given off by…), rauchen, rauche (to inhale and exhale smoke from a burning…)
Portuguesefumo, fumaça (visible particles and vapour given off by…), fumar (to inhale and exhale smoke from a burning…), fumada (colloquial: instance of smoking), fumegar (to give off smoke), defumar (to preserve or prepare by treating with smoke)
Spanishhumo, jumo (visible particles and vapour given off by…), pito, cigarro (colloquial: cigarette), fumar, purear (to inhale and exhale smoke from a burning…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does smoke come from?

From Middle English smoke, from Old English smoca (“smoke”), probably a derivative of the verb (see below). Related to Dutch smook (“smoke”), Middle Low German smôk (“smoke”), German Schmauch (“smoke (from a gun barrel)”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after smoke