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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Smoke box

Smoke \Smoke\ (sm[=o]k), n. [AS. smoca, fr. sme['o]can to smoke; akin to LG. & D. smook smoke, Dan. sm["o]g, G. schmauch, and perh. to Gr. ??? to burn in a smoldering fire; cf. Lith. smaugti to choke.]

  1. 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.

    Note: The gases of hydrocarbons, raised to a red heat or thereabouts, without a mixture of air enough to produce combustion, disengage their carbon in a fine powder, forming smoke. The disengaged carbon when deposited on solid bodies is soot.

  2. That which resembles smoke; a vapor; a mist.

  3. Anything unsubstantial, as idle talk.
    --Shak.

  4. The act of smoking, esp. of smoking tobacco; as, to have a smoke. [Colloq.]

    Note: Smoke is sometimes joined with other word. forming self-explaining compounds; as, smoke-consuming, smoke-dried, smoke-stained, etc.

    Smoke arch, the smoke box of a locomotive.

    Smoke ball (Mil.), a ball or case containing a composition which, when it burns, sends forth thick smoke.

    Smoke black, lampblack. [Obs.]

    Smoke board, a board suspended before a fireplace to prevent the smoke from coming out into the room.

    Smoke box, a chamber in a boiler, where the smoke, etc., from the furnace is collected before going out at the chimney.

    Smoke sail (Naut.), a small sail in the lee of the galley stovepipe, to prevent the smoke from annoying people on deck.

    Smoke tree (Bot.), a shrub ( Rhus Cotinus) in which the flowers are mostly abortive and the panicles transformed into tangles of plumose pedicels looking like wreaths of smoke.

    To end in smoke, to burned; hence, to be destroyed or ruined; figuratively, to come to nothing.

    Syn: Fume; reek; vapor.

Usage examples of "smoke box".

The wet steam from the steam dome is fed into narrow tubes which enter the top row of superheater tubes from the smoke box end, make a U-turn at the firebox end, and exit.