smog

[smog, smawg] /smɒg, smɔg/
noun
1.
smoke or other atmospheric pollutants combined with fog in an unhealthy or irritating mixture.
2.
photochemical smog.
verb (used with object)
3.
to cover or envelop with or as if with smog.
Origin
1900-05; sm(oke) + (f)og1
Related forms
smogless, adjective
desmog, verb (used with object), desmogged, desmogging.
Examples from the web for smog
  • Numerous studies have linked heart disease and air pollution, particularly smog.
  • Small efficient diesel engines with low smog and pollution emissions are the way to go.
  • But the sulphur that spews from the smokestacks of coal-fired power stations causes acid rain and the soot generates smog.
  • Long-term exposure to concentrated smog significantly raises the risk of dying from lung disease, a new study shows.
  • For environmentalists, the smog highlights several weaknesses in the region's societies.
  • The catalytic converter was designed to pull smog from car exhaust, and it does.
  • Paved roads and sprawl are likely to blame for summertime smog buildup.
  • We are still belching smoke and smog and dependent on both oil and coal.
  • The smog laws ultimately were mirrored across the country.
  • In the past it has used this right to make car manufacturers cut down the exhaust emissions that cause smog.
British Dictionary definitions for smog

smog

/smɒɡ/
noun
1.
a mixture of smoke, fog, and chemical fumes
Derived Forms
smoggy, adjective
Word Origin
C20: from sm(oke + f)og1
Word Origin and History for smog
n.

1905, blend of smoke and fog, formed "after Lewis Carrol's example" [Klein; see portmanteau]. Reputedly coined in reference to London, and first attested there in a paper read by Dr. H.A. des Voeux, treasurer of the Coal Smoke Abatement Society, though he seems not to have claimed credit for coining it.

At a recent health congress in London, a member used a new term to indicate a frequent London condition, the black fog, which is not unknown in other large cities and which has been the cause of a great deal of bad language in the past. The word thus coined is a contraction of smoke fog "smog" -- and its introduction was received with applause as being eminently expressive and appropriate. It is not exactly a pretty word, but it fits very well the thing it represents, and it has only to become known to be popular. ["Journal of the American Medical Association," Aug. 26, 1905]
Smaze (with haze (n.)) is from 1953.

smog in Medicine

smog (smŏg)
n.

  1. Fog that has become mixed and polluted with smoke.

  2. A form of air pollution produced when sunlight causes hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from automotive emissions to combine in a photochemical reaction.

smog in Science
smog
  (smŏg)   

  1. A form of air pollution produced by the reaction of sunlight with hydrocarbons, nitrogen compounds, and other gases primarily released in automobile exhaust. Smog is common in large urban areas, especially during hot, sunny weather, where it appears as a brownish haze that can irritate the eyes and lungs. Ozone, a toxic gas that is not normally produced at lower atmospheric levels, is one of the primary pollutants created in this kind of smog. Also called photochemical smog.

  2. Fog that has become polluted with smoke and particulates, especially from burning coal.


smog in Culture

smog definition


A haze or fog composed of water vapor, complex molecules, and suspended particles.

Note: In North America, the primary cause of smog is pollution from automobile exhaust.
Note: The Los Angeles basin, where pollutants can be trapped by inversions and the surrounding mountains, has frequent problems with smog, as do other major urban areas.
Note: The word smog is a combination of smoke and fog.
Related Abbreviations for smog

smog

smoke and fog