soot

[ soot, soot ]

noun

1. a black, carbonaceous substance produced during incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc., rising in fine particles and adhering to the sides of the chimney or pipe conveying the smoke: also conveyed in the atmosphere to other locations.

verb (used with object)

1. to mark, cover, or treat with soot.

soot

/ sʊt /

noun

1. finely divided carbon deposited from flames during the incomplete combustion of organic substances such as coal

verb

1. tr to cover with soot

soot

/ st /

1. A black, powdery substance that consists mainly of carbon and is formed through the incomplete combustion of wood, coal, diesel oil, or other materials. Because it absorbs energy from sunlight rather than reflecting it, soot is believed to be a cause of global warming, especially when it settles on snow and ice, reducing their reflectivity. Soot particles in the air are a contributing factor in respiratory diseases.

Other Words From

• sootless adjective
• sootlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of soot¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English sōt; cognate with Old Norse sōt

Word History and Origins

Origin of soot¹

Old English sōt; related to Old Norse, Middle Low German sōt, Lithuanian sódis, Old Slavonic sažda, Old Irish sūide

Example Sentences

Lyons and her colleagues argue, though, that most of the soot from these fires would have remained lower in the atmosphere and been removed by precipitation.

From Popular-Science

The impact vaporized rock, ignited wildfires, and created a cloud of soot and dust that darkened and cooled the entire planet.

From Popular-Science

There’s plenty of evidence that air pollution — a broad category that includes soot, smog, and other pollutants from sources such as traffic, industry and fires — can harm health.

From Science News

Previously, she was a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, where she wrote about everything from desert wind power battles to the sale of national forest lands and poor neighborhoods grappling with deadly soot.

From ProPublica

He thinks that developing fuels that release less soot — as well as more efficient ways to burn that fuel — seem like better tactics.

From Science News For Students

Indeed, a common racial slur in Dutch is, precisely, roetmop, which means soot mop.

From The Daily Beast

There is also soot staining the tiles, suggesting the bodies were burned or there had been a small blast.

From The Daily Beast

Air pollution gets worse during drought; in California the problem is soot, and in Texas it was ozone.

From The Daily Beast

Some computer models, he said, indicate that about half of the global warming in the Arctic is driven by methane and soot.

From The Daily Beast

Ladder 118 looks small on the Brooklyn Bridge; in the foreground both towers billow soot.

From The Daily Beast

As it passed out of the chimney, the soot left those long streaks of black which we see now on the woodpecker's back.

From Project Gutenberg

A rubber blanket was procured, and the soot from the chimney carefully swept into it.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he crouched trembling in the fireplace, his pretty green hair all blackened with soot and covered with ashes.

From Project Gutenberg

Fearing to be met by some of the guests of the Duke of Aquitaine, the serf had smeared soot mixed with grease over his face.

From Project Gutenberg

Upon it they wrote with pens made of split reeds and with a thick ink made of soot (lampblack) mixed with resinous gums.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• grime
• grit
• residue
• sediment
• smoke
• smudge