cigarette
Cigarette (noun) means a thin roll of shredded tobacco wrapped in paper, meant for smoking. Example: “She lit a cigarette outside the office.”
How to use cigarette
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA thin, paper-wrapped tobacco stick for smoking — smaller and milder than a cigar.
Word forms
cigaretted past tense, cigarettes plural, cigarettes singular
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
She lit a _____ outside the office.
Etymology
Borrowed from French cigarette, a diminutive of cigare (from Spanish cigarro) — literally a "little cigar".
Synonyms
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Rhymes for cigarette
See all rhymes for cigarette →Frequently asked questions
What does “cigarette” mean?
The word “cigarette” means a thin roll of shredded tobacco wrapped in paper, meant for smoking. In plain terms, a thin, paper-wrapped tobacco stick for smoking — smaller and milder than a cigar.
How do you pronounce “cigarette”?
“Cigarette” is pronounced SIH-guh-reht (/ˈsɪɡəɹɛt/ in IPA).
How do you use “cigarette” in a sentence?
Here is “cigarette” used in a sentence: “She lit a cigarette outside the office.”
What part of speech is “cigarette”?
“Cigarette” is a noun.
Where does the word “cigarette” come from?
The word “cigarette” comes from French. Borrowed from French cigarette, a diminutive of cigare (from Spanish cigarro) — literally a "little cigar".
Is “cigarette” a common word?
“Cigarette” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
What is the difference between a cigarette and a cigar?
A cigarette is a thin roll of shredded tobacco wrapped in paper, while a cigar is a thicker roll of tobacco wrapped in a tobacco leaf rather than paper. Cigarettes are typically small, machine-made, and smoked quickly; cigars are larger and burn much longer.
Is it spelled cigarette or cigaret?
Cigarette is the standard spelling throughout the English-speaking world. Cigaret is a rare, dated American variant that some dictionaries still record, but it looks like a misspelling to most modern readers and is best avoided.
What verbs are commonly used with cigarette?
You light a cigarette, smoke it, puff on it or drag on it, and finally stub it out or put it out. "Have a cigarette" is also common in informal speech. These fixed collocations sound far more natural than alternatives such as "burn a cigarette."
What is the difference between a cigarette and an e-cigarette?
A cigarette burns shredded tobacco wrapped in paper, producing smoke. An e-cigarette is a battery-powered device that heats a liquid — usually containing nicotine — into a vapor, so nothing is burned and no tobacco leaf or paper is involved.