How to Use ashtray in a Sentence

ashtray

noun
  • Craighill’s take on the ashtray is slim and sleek.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Two vapes, a lighter and an ashtray sat on a counter.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Gavitt and his wife were smokers, and an ashtray was in the room.
    — Ed White, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2018
  • If smoking is banned on planes, what's with all the ashtrays?
    — Joseph Hincks, Time, 18 Sep. 2017
  • My dad likely wouldn’t have noticed if the house was full of ashtrays.
    — Gillian Telling, People.com, 16 Oct. 2024
  • At one point, red-eyed Ray set the ashtray on fire, melting the dash.
    — Chris Rush, Harper's magazine, 19 Aug. 2019
  • Old rags hardened by paint and ashtrays sat on tables; his trench coat hung on a wall.
    — Dina Gachman, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 July 2023
  • Soot had blown through every door, window and vent; the whole place smelled like an ashtray.
    — Josh Eells, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2025
  • And there's room at the bar with large ashtrays and an array of fine wines, craft beers and liquor to choose from.
    — William Thornton, AL.com, 31 July 2017
  • The ashtray used to bash in her head could also have usable samples.
    — Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 May 2018
  • The plane also lacks Wi-Fi and still has ashtrays in the seats.
    — Ben Morse, CNN, 26 Feb. 2025
  • There was wine and cheese and people in uniforms who emptied the ashtrays.
    — David Sedaris, The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2017
  • Two cigarette butts from an ashtray that had spilled onto the floor.
    — Gina Barton, USA Today, 2 May 2025
  • Freddie, by the way, is not the only one bludgeoned in the head with that ashtray.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2024
  • Police then found small rocks of crack cocaine in the ashtray-cupholder.
    — Bob Sandrick, cleveland, 8 Nov. 2019
  • In the cluttered house, cigarette butts are piled in an ashtray.
    — Roger Cohen, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023
  • Well, if Cyrus is an ashtray, the hosts asked, then what is Tom Waits?
    — Jessica Wang, EW.com, 5 Sep. 2024
  • There were ashtrays on every table!
    — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 3 Mar. 2026
  • From ashtrays, to rolling sets, to cute accoutrement, there are so many ways to style your sesh.
    — Emily Earlenbaugh, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The desertscape even resembles one of those classy outdoor ashtrays.
    — Steve Hely, Esquire, 30 May 2017
  • My father sat behind me at the dining table and tapped his pipe against an ashtray.
    — Jason Prokowiew, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
  • Even though that was the nice ashtray, as opposed to the black plastic ones that were in the garage or on the back brick steps.
    — Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
  • As a bonus, like the prior offerings, the box turns over to become an ashtray.
    — Richard Carleton Hacker, Robb Report, 17 Nov. 2021
  • The deputy observed a couple of roaches near the cup holder ashtray.
    — Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 21 July 2019
  • Those ashtrays seem to have had better results than the signs, but still have not ended the problem.
    — Dan Sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, 2 July 2018
  • When asked about the odor, the girlfriend admitted there were roaches in the ashtray.
    — John Benson, cleveland, 25 Nov. 2020
  • Vintage ashtrays are also kitschy and can become a focal point.
    — Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 4 May 2026
  • Wood desks have replaced green metal mainframes, and the ashtrays and rotary phones are gone.
    — Marco Hernandez, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Can’t forget the rocks and shells in the ashtray, the masks slung around the rearview mirror, or the dinosaur toy glued to the dash.
    — The Editors, Outside Online, 29 Dec. 2021
  • There’s a fresh one in the ashtray beside it that one of his assistants recently rolled for him.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 6 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ashtray.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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