tobacco

noun

to·​bac·​co tə-ˈba-(ˌ)kō 

plural tobaccos

1

: any of a genus (Nicotiana) of chiefly American plants of the nightshade family with viscid foliage and tubular flowers

especially : a tall erect annual tropical American herb (N. tabacum) cultivated for its leaves

2

: the leaves of cultivated tobacco prepared for use in smoking or chewing or as snuff

3

: manufactured products of tobacco (such as cigars or cigarettes)

also : smoking as a practice

has sworn off tobacco

4

: a moderate brown

Illustration of tobacco

• tobacco 1

Examples of tobacco in a Sentence

a farm that grows tobacco

a state tax on tobacco

Recent Examples on the Web

The tobacco trials — which took place over decades but began to shift in favor of plaintiffs in the ’90s — similarly saw various types of plaintiffs file a wave of lawsuits, contributing to the release of internal documents and testing new legal theories. —Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 22 Feb. 2026

But his career’s signature moment took place in the batter’s box, as the square-jawed, tobacco-chewing Mazeroski, a coal miner’s son from West Virginia, lived out the dream of so many kids who thought of playing professional ball. —ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026

But Mazeroski’s signature moment took place in the batter’s box, as the square-jawed, tobacco-chewing second baseman, a coal miner’s son from West Virginia, lived out the dream of so many kids who thought of playing professional ball. —Hillel Italie, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2026

Experts see the reckoning as reminiscent of cases against tobacco and opioid markets, and the plaintiffs hope that social media platforms will see similar outcomes as cigarette makers and drug companies, pharmacies and distributors. —Barbara Ortutay, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish tabaco, probably from Taino, roll of tobacco leaves

First Known Use

circa 1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing tobacco

• anti-tobacco
• chewing tobacco
• dipping tobacco
• Indian tobacco
• smokeless tobacco
• tobacco budworm
• tobacco hornworm
• tobacco juice
• tobacco mosaic virus
• tobacco road

Rhymes for tobacco

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

Kids Definition

tobacco

noun

to·​bac·​co tə-ˈbak-ō 

plural tobaccos

1

: any of a genus of chiefly American plants of the nightshade family that have sticky leaves and tube-shaped flowers

especially : a tall upright tropical American herb with pink or white flowers that is grown for its leaves

2

: the leaves of cultivated tobacco prepared for use in smoking or chewing or as snuff

Medical Definition

tobacco

noun

to·​bac·​co tə-ˈbak-(ˌ)ō 

plural tobaccos

1

: any plant of the genus Nicotiana

especially : an annual South American herb (N. tabacum) cultivated for its leaves

2

: the leaves of cultivated tobacco prepared for use in smoking or chewing or as snuff

3

: manufactured products of tobacco

also : the use of tobacco as a practice