What does smokeable mean?
Smokeable means able to be smoked or suitable for smoking. The adjective is especially common in food contexts, where it identifies ingredients such as fish, meat, or cheese that can be exposed to wood smoke to preserve or flavor them. It is also used for tobacco and related products capable of being smoked. Although smokeable describes what is suitable for the process, it does not necessarily mean that the process has already occurred: smoked is the usual word for a product that has undergone smoking. The term occurs in both British and American English, where “smokable” is also a common variant spelling. Overall, smokeable is a practical adjective that distinguishes suitability or capability from the result of smoking.
adjectiveCapable of being smoked or suitable for smoking. It is used especially of foods and tobacco products that can be exposed to smoke to preserve, flavor, or prepare them.
- Able to be smoked or suitable for smoking.
"The recipe recommends lightly smokeable oak planks for adding flavor to the fish."
"Smokeable foods such as salmon and brisket are often prepared over wood."
"The shop stocks several kinds of smokeable tobacco."
A smokeable product has not necessarily been smoked—the word describes suitability, not a process already completed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does smokeable come from?
Smokeable is formed from the English word “smoke” and the suffix “-able,” meaning “able to be” or “capable of being.” “Smoke” is inherited from Old English, while the suffix has roots in French through the established English adjective-forming ending “-able.” Related English words include smoky, smokeless, and smokehouse, all of which share the same basic root.
How smokeable is actually used
Both “smokeable” and “smokable” are accepted spellings in British and American English. The word is most often applied to foods and tobacco; “smoked” is normally used when describing a product that has already undergone smoking.
Easily confused with smokeable
Smokeable describes something that can be smoked, whereas smoked describes something that has already been exposed to smoke.