a black, carbonaceous substance produced during incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc., rising in fine particles and adhering to the sides of the chimney or pipe conveying the smoke: also conveyed in the atmosphere to other locations.
verb (used with object)
to mark, cover, or treat with soot.
Origin of soot
before 900; Middle English; Old English sōt; cognate with Old Norse sōt
The impact vaporized rock, ignited wildfires, and created a cloud of soot and dust that darkened and cooled the entire planet.
An asteroid didn’t kill the dinosaurs by itself. Earth helped.|Kate Baggaley|September 30, 2020|Popular Science
Lyons and her colleagues argue, though, that most of the soot from these fires would have remained lower in the atmosphere and been removed by precipitation.
An asteroid didn’t kill the dinosaurs by itself. Earth helped.|Kate Baggaley|September 30, 2020|Popular Science
There’s plenty of evidence that air pollution — a broad category that includes soot, smog, and other pollutants from sources such as traffic, industry and fires — can harm health.
What we know and don’t know about wildfire smoke’s health risks|Maria Temming|September 18, 2020|Science News
Previously, she was a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, where she wrote about everything from desert wind power battles to the sale of national forest lands and poor neighborhoods grappling with deadly soot.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
He thinks that developing fuels that release less soot — as well as more efficient ways to burn that fuel — seem like better tactics.
How to curb the climate heating by contrails|Stephen Ornes|April 27, 2020|Science News For Students
There is also soot staining the tiles, suggesting the bodies were burned or there had been a small blast.
Who Is Behind Gaza's Mass Execution?|Jesse Rosenfeld|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Air pollution gets worse during drought; in California the problem is soot, and in Texas it was ozone.
America’s Axis of Drought|Kate Galbraith|March 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some computer models, he said, indicate that about half of the global warming in the Arctic is driven by methane and soot.
The End of the Arctic? Ocean Could be Ice Free by 2015|Mark Hertsgaard|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Soot, methane, ozone, and HFCs are a lot less sexy than flying to Rio and making bold promises.
Hillary Clinton’s Plan to Get Serious About Global Warming|David G. Victor, Charles F. Kennel, Veerabhadran Ramanathan|June 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And Soot says that, growing up in Bombay, “all these museums seemed inaccessible to me…I started enjoying art when I went abroad.”
Google Takes Street View Inside 17 Museums for Virtual Tours|Blake Gopnik|February 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The smoke and the soot tickled the boy's nostrils until it seemed to him that he must sneeze.
Tom Strong, Lincoln's Scout|Alfred Bishop Mason
I don't believe it was real fog, but just a mixture of soot and steam they're trying to pass off for the real thing.
Mollie and the Unwiseman Abroad|John Kendrick Bangs
The curtains hung in rags about a window begrimed with soot and smoke.
The Doctor's Dilemma|Hesba Stretton
Mr. Chase gave Mr. Teak a glance the pathos of which even the soot could not conceal.
Ship's Company, The Entire Collection|W.W. Jacobs
It is said that Ware retained the stain of soot in his skin to the day of his death.
Curiosities of Impecuniosity|H. G. Somerville
British Dictionary definitions for soot
soot
/ (sʊt) /
noun
finely divided carbon deposited from flames during the incomplete combustion of organic substances such as coal
verb
(tr)to cover with soot
Word Origin for soot
Old English sōt; related to Old Norse, Middle Low German sōt, Lithuanian sódis, Old Slavonic sažda, Old Irish sūide
A black, powdery substance that consists mainly of carbon and is formed through the incomplete combustion of wood, coal, diesel oil, or other materials. Because it absorbs energy from sunlight rather than reflecting it, soot is believed to be a cause of global warming, especially when it settles on snow and ice, reducing their reflectivity. Soot particles in the air are a contributing factor in respiratory diseases.