ENGLISH
REFERENCE

tobacco

n.
US //təˈbæˌkoʊ// UK //təbˈækəʊ// to·bac·co
  1. 1 the dried leaves (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the dried leaves of a plant used to make cigarettes, cigars, or pipe mixtures.

    the cured and processed leaves of the tobacco plant, typically used for smoking, chewing, or as snuff.

    Example

    He bought a small pouch of tobacco to roll his own cigarettes.

    Example

    The government increased the tax on loose tobacco in an effort to discourage young people from starting to smoke.

    Usage

    Usually uncountable when referring to the substance.

  2. 2 the plant (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Science

    a tall plant with large leaves that is grown on farms to produce tobacco.

    any plant belonging to the genus Nicotiana, especially those cultivated for commercial leaf production.

    Example

    The farmers in this region have grown tobacco for many generations.

    Example

    Agricultural scientists are developing new strains of tobacco that are more resistant to common soil-borne diseases.

    Usage

    Can be countable when referring to specific botanical varieties.

Origin

Attested since 1588, borrowed from Spanish tabaco. The Spanish word could be from Arabic طُبَّاق (ṭubbāq, “Dittrichia viscosa”) or from a Caribbean language such as Kari'na or Taíno or multiple of them, from a word meaning "roll of tobacco leaves" or "a pipe for smoking tobacco," such as tabago (“tube for inhaling smoke or powdered intoxicating plants”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 19, 2026