soot

B2 Topic:Materials & Substances

Also spelled sut

US /sʊt/ UK /sʊt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like suit /ʊ/ vs /uː/

Meanings

1

noun
a black powdery or flaky substance produced by incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc.

The chimney was clogged with soot.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a black powdery or flaky... ash cinder residue carbon grime

More smut

Word family

Forms sooty

Etymology

From Old English sōt ('soot, black powdery substance'), via Middle English sot ('soot, black residue from burning') into Modern English soot.

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# soot

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /sʊt/
**IPA (UK):** /sʊt/

## Meanings
1. a black powdery or flaky substance produced by incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc.

## Examples
- The chimney was clogged with soot.

## Synonyms
- ash
- cinder
- residue
- carbon
- grime
- smut

## Etymology
From Old English sōt ('soot, black powdery substance'), via Middle English sot ('soot, black residue from burning') into Modern English soot.

## AI Etymology
Soot comes from Old English sōt ('soot, black powdery substance'), via Middle English sot ('soot, black residue from burning') into Modern English soot. In current use it is a noun meaning "a black powdery or flaky substance produced by incomplete combustion of coal, wood, oil, etc.". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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