ashtray
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a small dish or container used for cigarette ash and finished cigarettes.
a container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or metal, intended for the disposal of tobacco ash and cigarette or cigar ends.
Simple“He looked for an ashtray to put out his cigarette before entering the building.”
In context“The hotel lobby featured heavy crystal ashtrays on every side table, a relic of an era before indoor smoking bans became standard.”
UsageA countable noun; usually used with the definite article when referring to a specific one in a room.
Teacher's tipWhile common in older literature and films, this word is becoming less frequent in daily life due to public smoking bans.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs-der.? Proto-Germanic *askǭ Proto-West Germanic *askā Old English æsce Middle English asshe English ash Proto-Germanic *trawją Proto-West Germanic *trawi Old English trēġ Middle English trey English tray English ashtray From ash + tray. Compare German Aschenbecher.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.