cloud of smoke
- noun
- /klaʊd əv smoʊk/
- The explosion created a giant cloud of smoke that could be seen miles away.
- exhale clouds of smoke
And these things were flame retardant and it created a cloud of smoke.
- And these things were flame retardant and it created a cloud of smoke.
- So first you hear the rumble and you feel like that, and then and then this giant cloud of smoke is released from the earth.
Examples
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Emergency services arrived to control the cloud of smoke billowing from the burning building.
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New York City was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, soot, and toxic ash.
Academic text (2003) -
The car comes to rest in a big cloud of smoke.
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When I remember that house, I see it through a cloud of smoke.
Fiction book (1994) -
We heard this noise like a boom, and when we looked there was this cloud of smoke.
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Then there was a ball of fire, from which rose a dense black cloud of smoke.
Fiction book (2000) -
I see this plane disappear behind the horizon and then suddenly a cloud of smoke comes up.
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We see the gigantic cloud of smoke that has settled over everything.
Fiction book (1992) -
As Kassianos' incantation built, a cloud of smoke grew in his cubicle.
Fiction book (1997) -
As the fire raged, a thick cloud of smoke spread across the sky, blocking out the sun.
Synonyms
A cloud of tiny particles and gas made by burning something
A long thin mass, like smoke or steam, that rises into the air
A thick cloud of smoke that makes it hard to see
A large cloud of smoke and burning pieces that rises from a big fire
How Smoky
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a large, visible mass of smoke' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cloud' (a mass or collection) with 'smoke' via the regular noun + of + noun construction; even if 'of' is not listed, its linking function is obvious. This is a compositional, cross-linguistically common pattern and a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Cloud of smoke comes from the simple image of dark smoke rising and spreading like a cloud in the sky. That's why it means a 'large, visible mass of smoke' you can see when something is burning.