vape

verb

ˈvāp 

vaped; vaping

transitive + intransitive

: to inhale vapor through the mouth from a usually battery-operated electronic device (such as an electronic cigarette) that heats up and vaporizes a liquid or solid

This electronic cigarette … contains a small reservoir of liquid nicotine solution that is vaporized to form an aerosol mist. The user "vapes," or puffs on the vapor, to get a hit of the addictive nicotine …

—John Tierney

When a person tokes, eats or vapes cannabis, a wave of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, washes into the brain.

—Laura Sanders

vaper noun

The problem is that little is known about the precise dangers of being in the same space as a vaper indulging their e-habit.

—Amber Dance

Examples of vape in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The study’s author acknowledged that the mode of administration matters and recommended that future research examine whether alternative delivery methods, like vaping or edibles, pose different levels of cancer risk. —New Atlas, 9 Aug. 2025

Accepted medications that can be disposed of include tablets, capsules and other solid forms of prescription drugs; patches, vaping devices and cartridges with lithium batteries removed; prescription ointments, pet medications and vitamins. —Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025

In comparison to the rise of nitrous, the use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices among middle and high school students declined between 2023 and 2024 by 5.9% — or about 1.63 million students, according to the FDA — from a high of 7.7% (or 2.13 million). —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025

Businesses also found ways to get around the potency limits for hemp, and some sell THCA flower that becomes delta-9 when smoked or vaped. —Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

short for vapor entry 1, in reference to the aerosol produced by the cigarette, by analogy with smoke entry 2

First Known Use

1999, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for vape

• ape
• cape
• crape
• crepe
• drape
• gape
• grape
• pape
• rape
• scape
• scrape
• shape

Kids Definition

vape

verb

ˈvāp 

: to inhale vapor through the mouth from a usually battery-operated electronic device that heats up and vaporizes a liquid or solid

Medical Definition

vape

verb

ˈvāp 

vaped; vaping

intransitive verb

: to inhale and exhale vapor from an electronic cigarette or similar device like someone smoking a conventional cigarette

transitive verb

: to inhale or exhale the vapor of

vaper noun

Vapers can inhale huge numbers of very small aerosol particles into the lung's tiniest airways.

—Janet Raloff, Science News