smoke around
B1 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words
To smoke near other people.
Literal meaning: To smoke while being around others.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To smoke tobacco or other substances in the presence of other people, often without their consent.
"Please don't smoke around the children — it's very bad for their health."
Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 informal
To smoke casually in a social setting, moving between groups of people.
"He spent the party smoking around on the terrace, chatting with different guests."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Not a highly standardized phrasal verb. More of a prepositional construction. Used in contexts discussing passive smoking or social smoking etiquette. Can be used with an indirect object: 'smoke around children', 'smoke around colleagues'.
Commonly used with
children kids non-smokers family colleagues pets
Forms
Base
smoke around
I/you/we/they
3rd person
smokes around
he/she/it
Past simple
smoked around
yesterday
Past participle
smoked around
have + pp
-ing form
smoking around
continuous
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