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

Women’s outerwear styles include the Spey Wax Jacket, which reimagines Barbour’s classic silhouette in tobacco wax with a brown corduroy collar. —Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 30 Oct. 2025

Adopting a healthy lifestyle, including diet, exercise, sleep, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding sugar, eliminating tobacco, and curbing or skipping alcoholic beverages altogether, play a role in reducing early breast cancer recurrence. —Marnie Goodfriend, Flow Space, 27 Oct. 2025

Altria The parent company of tobacco brand Marlboro and one of the country’s largest tobacco firms has pushed for less FDA oversight of e-cigarettes. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025

Guests report nurses walking through the halls pushing wheelchairs, dark figures, cold spots, smells like cherry tobacco without a source, flickering lights and visitors feeling ill in certain areas of the hotel such as the old hospital wings and the morgue (now the site of the spa). —Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025

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