Smoke vs. Mist — What's the Difference?

A visible suspension of carbon and other particles in the air.

To become covered with a fine spray or light fog.

To flavor or preserve food by exposing it to smoke from burning material.

A fine spray or light fog consisting of tiny water droplets in the air.

To emit smoke or something resembling smoke.

To obscure or cloud, especially with moisture or doubt.

Smoke is a collection of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires (including stoves, candles, internal combustion engines, oil lamps, and fireplaces), but may also be used for pest control (fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defensive and offensive capabilities in the military (smoke screen), cooking, or smoking (tobacco, cannabis, etc.).

Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in air. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion.

A visible suspension of carbon or other particles in air, typically one emitted from a burning substance

A cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface that limits visibility (to a lesser extent than fog; strictly, with visibility remaining above 1 km)

An act of smoking tobacco

Cover or become covered with mist

A big city, especially London

A mass of fine droplets of water in the atmosphere near or in contact with the earth.

Emit smoke or visible vapour

Water vapor condensed on and clouding the appearance of a surface.

Inhale and exhale the smoke of tobacco or a drug

Fine drops of a liquid, such as water, perfume, or medication, sprayed into the air.

Treat, fumigate, or cleanse by exposure to smoke.

A suspension of fine drops of a liquid in a gas.

Kill (someone) by shooting

Something that dims or conceals.

Make fun of (someone)

A haze before the eyes that blurs the vision.

A mixture of gases and small suspended particles of soot or other solids, resulting from the burning of materials such as wood or coal.

Something that produces or gives the impression of dimness or obscurity

A cloud of such gases and suspended particles.

A drink consisting of a liquor served over cracked ice.

A vapor, mist, or fume that resembles this.

To be or become obscured or blurred by or as if by mist.

Something insubstantial, unreal, or transitory

To rain in a fine shower.

The act of smoking a form of tobacco

To conceal or veil with or as if with mist.

The duration of this act.

To moisturize (plants or dry air, for example) with a fine spray of water.

(Informal) Tobacco in a form that can be smoked, especially a cigarette

Water or other liquid finely suspended in air. fog, haze.}}

A substance used in warfare to produce a smokescreen.

(countable) A layer of fine droplets or particles.

Something used to conceal or obscure.

(figurative) Anything that dims, darkens, or hinders vision.

A pale to grayish blue to bluish or dark gray.

To form mist.

(Baseball) Pitches thrown at high velocity; fast balls

To spray fine droplets on, particularly of water.

To draw in and exhale smoke from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe

To cover with a mist.

To engage in smoking regularly or habitually

(of the eyes) To be covered by tears.

To emit smoke or a smokelike substance

To disperse into a mist, accompanying operation of equipment at high speeds.

To emit smoke excessively

Visible watery vapor suspended in the atmosphere, at or near the surface of the earth; fog.

To go or proceed at high speed.

Coarse, watery vapor, floating or falling in visible particles, approaching the form of rain; as, Scotch mist.

To play or perform energetically

Hence, anything which dims or darkens, and obscures or intercepts vision.

To draw in and exhale the smoke of (tobacco, for example)

To cloud; to cover with mist; to dim.

To do so regularly or habitually

To rain in very fine drops; as, it mists.

To preserve (meat or fish) by exposure to the aromatic smoke of burning hardwood, usually after pickling in salt or brine.

A thin fog with condensation near the ground

To fumigate (a house, for example).

Become covered with mist;

To expose (animals, especially insects) to smoke in order to immobilize or drive away.

Make less visible or unclear;

To expose (glass) to smoke in order to darken or change its color.

Spray finely or cover with mist

To kill; murder.

To spray finely, as with water.

To defeat decisively, as in a competition.

A vague or confused state of mind.

(Baseball) To throw (a pitch) at high velocity.

(uncountable) The visible vapor/vapour, gases, and fine particles given off by burning or smoldering material.

A cigarette.

Anything to smoke (e.g. cigarettes, marijuana, etc.)

An instance of smoking a cigarette, cigar, etc.; the duration of this act.

A fleeting illusion; something insubstantial, evanescent, unreal, transitory, or without result.

Something used to obscure or conceal; an obscuring condition; see also smoke and mirrors.

(uncountable) A light grey colour/color tinted with blue.

Bother; problems; hassle.

A particulate of solid or liquid particles dispersed into the air on the battlefield to degrade enemy ground or for aerial observation. Smoke has many uses--screening smoke, signaling smoke, smoke curtain, smoke haze, and smoke deception. Thus it is an artificial aerosol.

A fastball.

(countable) A distinct column of smoke, such as indicating a burning area or fire.

(transitive) To inhale and exhale the smoke from a burning cigarette, cigar, pipe, etc.

(intransitive) To inhale and exhale tobacco smoke.

(intransitive) To give off smoke.

(intransitive) Of a fire in a fireplace: to emit smoke outward instead of up the chimney, owing to imperfect draught.

(transitive) To preserve or prepare (food) for consumption by treating with smoke.

(transitive) To dry or medicate by smoke.

To fill or scent with smoke; hence, to fill with incense; to perfume.

To make unclear or blurry.

To perform (e.g. music) energetically or skillfully.

To beat someone at something.

To kill, especially with a gun.

To thrash; to beat.

To smell out; to hunt out; to find out; to detect.

To ridicule to the face; to mock.

To burn; to be kindled; to rage.

To raise a dust or smoke by rapid motion.

To suffer severely; to be punished.

To punish (a person) for a minor offense by excessive physical exercise.

(transitive) To cover (a key blank) with soot or carbon to aid in seeing the marks made by impressioning.

The visible exhalation, vapor, or substance that escapes, or expelled, from a burning body, especially from burning vegetable matter, as wood, coal, peat, or the like.

That which resembles smoke; a vapor; a mist.

Anything unsubstantial, as idle talk.

The act of smoking, esp. of smoking tobacco; as, to have a smoke.

To emit smoke; to throw off volatile matter in the form of vapor or exhalation; to reek.

Hence, to burn; to be kindled; to rage.

To raise a dust or smoke by rapid motion.

To draw into the mouth the smoke of tobacco burning in a pipe or in the form of a cigar, cigarette, etc.; to habitually use tobacco in this manner.

To suffer severely; to be punished.

To apply smoke to; to hang in smoke; to disinfect, to cure, etc., by smoke; as, to smoke or fumigate infected clothing; to smoke beef or hams for preservation.

To fill or scent with smoke; hence, to fill with incense; to perfume.

To smell out; to hunt out; to find out; to detect.

To ridicule to the face; to quiz.

To inhale and puff out the smoke of, as tobacco; to burn or use in smoking; as, to smoke a pipe or a cigar.

To subject to the operation of smoke, for the purpose of annoying or driving out; - often with out; as, to smoke a woodchuck out of his burrow.

A cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas

A hot vapor containing fine particles of carbon being produced by combustion;

An indication of some hidden activity;

Something with no concrete substance;

Tobacco leaves that have been made into a cylinder

Street names for marijuana

The act of smoking tobacco or other substances;

(baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity;

Inhale and exhale smoke from cigarettes, cigars, pipes;

Emit a cloud of fine particles;

The act of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning plant material, especially tobacco.

A signal or message made by the emission of smoke.

Yes, smoke can be harmful when inhaled, as it often contains harmful chemicals and toxins.

Smoke is primarily composed of airborne solid and liquid particulates from combustion.

Typically, mist is benign and not dangerous to breathe, unless it contains pollutants.

Mist is caused by the suspension of tiny water droplets in the air, often resulting from condensation.

Yes, smoke often carries a distinct odor depending on the substances that have been burned.

Smoke is often associated with danger, warmth, and fire.

While mist isn't typically used for a specific purpose, it plays a symbolic role in certain cultural or literary contexts.

While smoke can occur naturally, such as from wildfires, it's often a result of human activities like cooking or burning fuels.

Mist can also reduce visibility, particularly when it's dense.

Yes, smoke is often used to flavor or preserve certain foods, such as smoked salmon or smoked cheeses.

Mist is commonly observed during early mornings or late evenings when temperatures drop, especially in humid areas or near bodies of water.

Smoke can greatly reduce visibility, especially in cases of heavy smoke.

Generally, mist doesn't carry a distinct odor like smoke does.

Both smoke and mist have the ability to scatter light, which is why they can reduce visibility.

Mist often evokes feelings of tranquility, calmness, and mystery.