: a black substance formed by combustion or separated from fuel during combustion, rising in fine particles, and adhering to the sides of the chimney or pipe conveying the smoke
especially
: the fine powder consisting chiefly of carbon that colors smoke
Examples of soot in a Sentence
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Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2025
The bear — maybe fascinated by flying soot or maybe out of pure cussedness — had taken a fiendish delight in batting lengths of stovepipe around.
—Ted Updike, Outdoor Life, 22 May 2025
Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025
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Noun
Then last month, in an attempt to revive the nation’s dwindling coal industry, President Donald Trump threw a lifeline to Vistra and a few dozen other energy companies, encouraging them to apply for exemptions from the latest federal limits on soot, mercury and other toxic air pollution.
—Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2025
The bear — maybe fascinated by flying soot or maybe out of pure cussedness — had taken a fiendish delight in batting lengths of stovepipe around.
—Ted Updike, Outdoor Life, 22 May 2025
Verb
The wildfires produced the heaviest smoke and soot the region has seen in recent memory.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Soot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soot. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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