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

Hundreds took to the streets of Kenya's capital Nairobi on Tuesday, with armed police lobbing tear gas canisters and firing water cannons at demonstrators who had assembled in Nairobi's Central Business district. —Emma Ogao, ABC News, 20 June 2024

Tactical officers broke glass and threw tear gas canisters. —Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 14 June 2024

Verb

The Kenya Human Rights Commission on Tuesday shared videos of police firing at protesters and deploying tear-gas amid the chaos. —Char Adams, NBC News, 25 June 2024

On Thursday, a CNN team witnessed protesters being tear-gassed by police, resulting in a journalist being injured by a canister. —Duarte Mendonca, CNN, 21 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1916, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1918, in the meaning defined above

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