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Glite Dictionary
to smoke out

to smoke out

3 5.5
Force hidden people, animals, or secret information to come out of hiding
  • phrasal verb
  • /smoʊk aʊt/
translation icon : sacar a alguien de su escondite
  • Among his vows to achieve justice and to "smoke out" the terrorists, he would strike a gentler chord of humanitarianism and compassion.
  • try to smoke out

Examples

  • Caudell turned on the three men who had been smoked out.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Other refugees were discovered, and they were either smoked out or murdered in their hiding places.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Sometimes I use fire to smoke out hornets.

    The Beekeeper (2024)

  • You know how you smoke out a sniper?

    The Big Red One (1980)

  • To smoke out Zorro... once and for all.

    Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981)

  • This should smoke out any informant privy to who sent this latest batch of terrorist letters.

    Blog text (26)

  • Can Myrtle's sleuthing smoke out the killer before her goose is cooked?

    Blog text (2)

  • Even if an organization disguises its true intent, a few minutes of research on the Web can usually smoke out the proselytizers.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The detective used clever questions to smoke out the suspect's hidden motives.

  • The journalist worked hard to smoke out the corruption within the city council.

Synonyms

to reveal
vsto smoke out
∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

focuses on forcing people from hiding rather than simple information release
to uncover
vsto smoke out
243 3.5

Reveal secret facts to the public

uses effort to force people or things from concealment rather than just publicizing facts
to let out
vsto smoke out
32 3.7

Tell secret or private information to other people

implies active effort to drive people or things from hiding rather than passive leaks
to unmask
vsto smoke out
23 4.2

Show what someone or something really is

forces hidden people or information to leave hiding by persistent effort
to bring out
vsto smoke out
8 3.7

Make secret information known to the public

is more active and forcible, pushing people or things from hiding
to blow the lid off
vsto smoke out
  • Literature
8 6.8

Reveal secret information that shocks people

focuses on forcing people or things from hiding through steady effort rather than drama
to disclose
vsto smoke out
7 4.0

Make something visible by removing a cover

often implies forcing people from hiding rather than only sharing facts
to lift the veil
vsto smoke out
4 7.1

To reveal information that was previously hidden

is more forceful, making people or facts leave hiding rather than gentle revealing
to out
vsto smoke out
  • Informal
2 7.7

Reveal a secret or someone's identity

forces hidden people or information to leave hiding by persistent effort
to uncloak
vsto smoke out
1 7.7

To make something hidden become visible by removing a cover or showing the truth

forces hidden people or information to leave hiding by persistent effort

How Forceful

to root out
21 3.9
to flush out
51 4.5
to smoke out
3 5.5
to expose
342 4.1
to draw out
12 3.8

Surface Forms

smoke out infinitive
smoked out past
smoked out past participle
smoking out present participle
smokes out third person singular

Morphology

smoke + out

The literal sense (using smoke to force someone or something out) follows directly from combining 'smoke' with the particle 'out' and is partly inferable by a learner who knows both words. However, the extended sense 'to expose or reveal hidden information' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The verb smoke out comes from hunting and beekeeping, where people used smoke to drive animals or bees out of their hiding places. That's why it now means 'to force someone or something out of hiding' or 'to make hidden information known'.