# tobacco

Pronunciation: say "tuh-BAK-oh" US /təˈbæk.oʊ/, UK /təˈbæk.əʊ/

## Noun

1. Dried leaves of Nicotiana tabacum and related plants, grown and harvested to make cigarettes, cigars, snuff, and products for pipe-smoking or chewing.
   - Simple: The dried leaves used to make cigarettes, cigars, and other things people smoke or chew.
   - _The barn was full of tobacco hung up to cure before processing._
   - _Pipe smokers often blend several kinds of tobacco for a milder taste._
2. Any plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana, a group within the nightshade family.
   - Simple: A leafy plant in the nightshade family, grown for its leaves or sometimes for its flowers.
   - _Several wild species of tobacco bloom with trumpet-shaped flowers at dusk._
   - _Botanists study tobacco as a model organism in plant genetics._
3. A specific variety or cultivar of tobacco, distinguished by its growing region, curing method, or flavor.
   - Simple: A particular kind or type of tobacco, such as one grown in a certain place or way.
   - _The shop stocks a dark, smoky tobacco favored by cigar makers._
   - _Blenders combine several tobaccos to achieve a balanced flavor._

## Verb

4. To indulge in tobacco by smoking it, whether in a pipe, a cigar, or a cigarette.
   - Simple: To enjoy tobacco by smoking it, for example in a pipe, cigar, or cigarette.
   - _Sailors would tobacco below deck during the long winter voyages._
   - _He stepped onto the balcony to tobacco before bed._
5. To treat or prepare something by applying tobacco to it.
   - Simple: To put tobacco on or into something as a treatment.
   - _Shepherds once tobaccoed their flocks to rid them of parasites._
   - _Gardeners would tobacco the soil to drive off harmful grubs._

## Origin

Attested since 1588, tobacco was borrowed from Spanish tabaco. The Spanish word may derive either from Arabic طُبَّاق (ṭubbāq, a plant name) or from a Caribbean language such as Kari'na or Taíno, from a word meaning a roll of tobacco leaves or a pipe for smoking, such as tabago (a tube for inhaling smoke).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/tobacco (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).