cigarette

noun

cig·​a·​rette ˌsi-gə-ˈret 

ˈsi-gə-ˌret

variants or less commonly cigaret

: a slender roll of cut tobacco enclosed in paper and meant to be smoked

also : a similar roll of another substance (such as marijuana)

Examples of cigarette in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As the movie begins, Armando takes shelter in a Recife safehouse, overseen by a cigarette-ripping matron called Dona Sebastiana and populated by refugees navigating their own unspecified troubles. —Michael Snyder, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026

The actors paced in the wings puffing on cigarettes, watching the sliding door in case the fireman should catch them. —Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026

About 86% of poisoning calls related to e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine in 2025 were for children under 5 years old, Campbell said. —Gina Lee Castro, jsonline.com, 13 Mar. 2026

Exum had just lit a cigarette and was telling another colleague about the shooting when an agent walked over and told him to stop. —Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French cigarette, diminutive of cigare cigar, from Spanish cigarro

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cigarette

• anti-cigarette
• cigarette paper
• e-cigarette
• electronic cigarette

Rhymes for cigarette

• alphabet
• arpanet
• bayonet
• biuret
• clarinet
• coronet
• coverlet
• dataset
• epithet
• ethernet
• heavyset
• internet

Kids Definition

cigarette

noun

cig·​a·​rette ˌsig-ə-ˈret 

ˈsig-ə-ˌret

: a small roll of cut tobacco wrapped in paper for smoking

Etymology

from French cigarette, literally, "little cigar"