cigar

IPA/sɪˈɡɑː(r)/
KK[sɪɡˈɑr]IPA/sɪˈɡɑːr/

cigar — noun

  • cigarsingular
  • cigarsplural

1. A cigar is made by rolling dried tobacco leaves inside a tobacco leaf and lighti

1.nounB1
Definition

A cigar is made by rolling dried tobacco leaves inside a tobacco leaf and lighting one end to smoke it.

Example

Grandpa sat on the porch, slowly smoking a cigar after dinner.

collocation: smoke a cigar

The shop on Main Street sold Cuban cigars in a wooden box.

Common collocations
  • smoke a cigar
  • light a cigar
  • a fine / premium cigar
  • Cuban cigar
  • cigar smoke
Synonyms
  • stogie

    informal American English term for a cheap or roughly made cigar

  • cheroot

    a cigar with both ends cut flat, historically common in South and Southeast Asia

Common Mistakes

I bought a pack of cigars at the corner store.
I bought a cigar at the corner store.
Cigars are usually sold individually or in small boxes, not in packs like cigarettes.
Idioms

close, but no cigar

idiom

Used to say that someone's attempt or guess was almost correct but not quite successful.

Maya's answer was close, but no cigar for the final question.

Did Diego guess the right number? Close, but no cigar.

Word family

  • cigarillo
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Cigar, cigarette, pipe, and tobacco are all ways of consuming tobacco, but they differ in shape, wrapper, and typical use. A cigar is a thick roll of dried tobacco leaves wrapped in a whole tobacco leaf — it is larger, stronger, and smoked more slowly than a cigarette, which is thin, wrapped in paper, and usually filtered. Pipe tobacco is loose shredded leaf burned in a pipe bowl, offering a slower, more ritualistic smoke. 'Tobacco' as a general term refers to the dried plant material used in all three. For example: 'He relaxed on the balcony with a Cuban cigar' (a whole leaf roll), versus 'She stepped outside for a quick cigarette' (a paper-wrapped, filtered stick).

cigar ↗cigarette ↗pipe ↗tobacco ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cigar smoke
  • cigar box
  • cigar store

Phrases

  • smoke a cigar
  • light a cigar
  • a box of cigars

Etymology

MayanSpanishEnglish

The word 'cigar' comes from Spanish 'cigarro', which may come from the Mayan language word 'siyar' — meaning 'to smoke rolled tobacco leaves'. English speakers adopted the word in the 1700s as trade with Spanish-speaking regions brought the product to Europe and North America.