electronic cigarette

noun

variants or e-cigarette

ˈē-ˌsi-gə-ˈret 

-ˈsi-gə-ˌret

or less commonly e-cig

ˈē-ˌsig 

: a battery-operated device that is typically designed to resemble a traditional cigarette and is used to inhale a usually nicotine-containing vapor

Note: Electronic cigarettes contain a liquid solution typically consisting of nicotine, various chemical substances (such as propylene glycol or glycerol), and often flavoring. The solution is heated by the battery producing the aerosol or vapor inhaled by the user.

Examples of electronic cigarette in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the uninitiated, vaping is the inhaling of an aerosol mist from an electronic cigarette or other similar device, which heats up a liquid containing nicotine to create a vapor that looks like smoke. —Nina Totenberg, NPR, 2 Dec. 2024

Brown led Senate Democrats in introducing the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020 to curb the rise in tobacco and electronic cigarette usage among youth. —Rachel Schilke, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Oct. 2024

More than $17 million in settlement money from a nationwide lawsuit against electronic cigarette maker Juul Labs will be distributed to schools and organizations across Colorado to curb teen vaping, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday. —Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 9 July 2024

On June 21, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of the first electronic cigarette products in flavors other than tobacco in the U.S. —Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, The Conversation, 25 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

electronic cigarette

noun

: a battery-operated device that resembles a cigarette and is used to inhale a vapor that usually contains nicotine

Medical Definition

electronic cigarette

noun

variants or e-cigarette

ˈē-ˈsi-gə-ˌret 

also e-cig

ˈē-ˌsig 

: a battery-operated device that is typically designed to resemble a traditional cigarette and is used to inhale nicotine vapor

Another new product is the electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), a battery-powered device that aerosolizes nicotine for inhalation but does not burn tobacco.

—Nancy A. Rigotti, The Journal of the American Medical Association

see vape