Meaning & use

dottle

noun·Advancedold-fashionedspecialist

Last updated

UK/ˈdɒtl/
US/ˈdɑːtl/

Meaning

  1. noununcountableold-fashionedspecialist

    The small clump of unburned tobacco and ash left at the bottom of a pipe after smoking.

    Grammar: Usually uncountable: knocked out the dottle.

    Patterns

    • knock out the dottle

    He tapped the dottle out of his pipe against the fireplace.

    The old man scraped the dottle away before refilling the bowl.

    A tin of pipe tools helped to clear the dottle.

Common combinations

knock out the dottle
Knock out the dottle before refilling.
scrape the dottle
He scraped the dottle with a tool.
leftover dottle
A bit of leftover dottle stayed in the bowl.
clear the dottle
Clear the dottle regularly.
pipe dottle
The ashtray was full of pipe dottle.

Synonyms and how they differ

ash
The general word for burned residue, not the unburned lump.
residue
A broad term for leftovers of anything.
dregs
Leftover liquid sediment, not tobacco.

Word family

pipe noun
a smoking device
tobacco noun
the dried plant
tamper noun
a pipe tool

Practice

The dottle is found in a ___.

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