1
: not permitting smoking
the nonsmoking section of a restaurant
2
: not smoking
especially : not having the habit of smoking tobacco
… he proclaimed that smokers were hurting not just themselves but their nonsmoking neighbors … Otto Friedrich

Examples of nonsmoking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Almost half of the Durant casino will be in a nonsmoking area. Ashton Nichols, Dallas News, 26 May 2020 Once upon a time, when buying an airline ticket or booking a table at a restaurant, travelers had to choose between the smoking and nonsmoking sections. Lydia Denworth, Scientific American, 14 May 2020 The same researchers published another small study hinting that the fetuses of women who smoke cigarettes might be more likely to touch their faces than those of nonsmoking women, although that finding was not statistically significant. Roxanne Khamsi, Wired, 10 Mar. 2020 In the Bay Area, Graton converted a former events center into a nonsmoking gaming area, and San Pablo Lytton recently replaced its ventilation system with one that filters out more smoke and pumps in fresh air. Michael Cabanatuan, SFChronicle.com, 26 Dec. 2019 See All Example Sentences for nonsmoking

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nonsmoking was in 1851

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Cite this Entry

“Nonsmoking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonsmoking. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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