: a solid, liquid, or gaseous substance that on dispersion in the atmosphere irritates mucous membranes resulting especially in blinding of the eyes with tears and that is used chiefly (as by the police and the military) to disperse large crowds of people
variants
or tear gas
or less commonly teargas
tear-gassed or tear gassed also teargassed; tear-gassing or tear gassing also teargassing; tear-gases or tear gasses also teargasses
: to use tear gas on
The troops then tear-gassed the crowd of several hundred, mostly teenagers and young men, which scattered in great confusion, but re-formed later.—
Roger Daniels
Roger DanielsExamples of tear gas in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in response, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.
—Olga R. Rodriguez, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
What To Know According to at least three detainees who spoke with Miami's Spanish-language news channel Noticias 23, guards at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration facility reportedly used tear gas and physical force during a disturbance.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the police headquarters in Denpasar, Bali’s capital, on Saturday as some burned rubbish on the street and police fired tear gas into the crowd.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tear gas
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Noun
To ensure the safety of the federal agents, officials said authorities deployed tear gas on the crowd.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in response, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.
—Olga R. Rodriguez, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
What To Know According to at least three detainees who spoke with Miami's Spanish-language news channel Noticias 23, guards at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigration facility reportedly used tear gas and physical force during a disturbance.
—Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the police headquarters in Denpasar, Bali’s capital, on Saturday as some burned rubbish on the street and police fired tear gas into the crowd.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tear gas
Cite this Entry
“Tear gas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tear%20gas. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
teargas
1 of 2 verb
tear·gas
ˈti(ə)r-ˌgas 
: to use tear gas on
tear gas
2 of 2 noun
: any of various substances that cause eye irritation and blind the eyes with tears when released into the air and that are used mostly to scatter mobs
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