cigarette

American  

[sig-uh-ret, sig-uh-ret] / ˌsɪg əˈrɛt, ˈsɪg əˌrɛt /

Or cigaret

noun

1. a cylindrical roll of finely cut tobacco cured for smoking, considerably smaller than most cigars and usually wrapped in thin white paper.

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cigarette British  

/ ˌsɪɡəˈrɛt /

noun

1. Shortened forms: cig.   ciggy.  a short tightly rolled cylinder of tobacco, wrapped in thin paper and often having a filter tip, for smoking

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Other Word Forms

• anticigarette adjective

Etymology

Origin of cigarette

1820–30; < French, equivalent to cigare cigar + -ette -ette

Explanation

A small tube of paper that's filled with tobacco and lit with a match is a cigarette. Because cigarettes take a terrible toll on smokers' health, the number of people who smoke them has declined recently. Most cigarettes come in packages, each cigarette a perfect slim cylinder topped with a filter. When a cigarette is smoked all the way to this filter, it becomes a "butt." The main chemical in cigarettes is called nicotine, and it's extremely addictive — other additives in cigarettes can cause various cancers and lung diseases. Because of these dangers, cigarettes are regulated and highly taxed. The word itself comes from the French, meaning "little cigar."

Example Sentences

A former employee of the company, Niall Doherty, said the cigarette filters and tips were "waste off the machines and probably would have been put in the bin".

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

There’s no casino floor to walk through and no lingering cigarette smoke.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

He studied and wrote poetry in detention, penning his verses on cigarette boxes when he couldn't access paper.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

Watts, working through an eternal haze of cigarette smoke, gives as fine a performance as the nagging-mother material allows.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

Awkwardly, for she still had her cigarette, she picked up the vase and balanced it on the rim of the basin.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• smoke