tear gas

1 of 2

noun

: a solid, liquid, or gaseous substance that on dispersion in the atmosphere irritates mucous membranes resulting especially in blinding of the eyes with tears and that is used chiefly (as by the police and the military) to disperse large crowds of people

tear-gas

2 of 2

verb

ˈtir-ˌgas 

variants or tear gas or less commonly teargas

tear-gassed or tear gassed also teargassed; tear-gassing or tear gassing also teargassing; tear-gases or tear gasses also teargasses

transitive verb

: to use tear gas on

The troops then tear-gassed the crowd of several hundred, mostly teenagers and young men, which scattered in great confusion, but re-formed later.

—Roger Daniels

Examples of tear gas in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After a massive protest on Wednesday where riot police fired tear gas and live rounds on crowds trying to reach the offices of the council and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, former Prime Minister Claude Joseph launched a protest of his own, calling for the resignation of the council. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025

To disperse the protesters, the police deployed a large number of officers, some of whom fired tear gas. —Bhadra Sharma, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Verb

The facility shuttered in 2000 after the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit accusing the private prison operators of beating, tear-gassing and pepper-spraying youth incarcerated there, according to the ACLU report. —Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2025

Police donned gas masks and tear-gassed the peaceful crowd. —Chadd Scott, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1916, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1918, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tear gas

• alas
• amass
• bromegrass
• bypass
• chagas
• crabgrass
• crevasse
• eelgrass
• eyeglass
• groundmass
• harass
• impasse

Kids Definition

teargas

1 of 2 verb

tear·​gas ˈti(ə)r-ˌgas 

: to use tear gas on

tear gas

2 of 2 noun

: any of various substances that cause eye irritation and blind the eyes with tears when released into the air and that are used mostly to scatter mobs

Medical Definition

tear gas

noun

: a solid, liquid, or gaseous substance that on dispersion in the atmosphere irritates mucous membranes resulting especially in blinding of the eyes with tears