charcoal
Americannoun
-
the carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic substances in the absence of air.
-
a drawing pencil of charcoal.
-
a drawing made with charcoal.
verb (used with object)
-
to blacken, write, or draw with charcoal.
-
to cook (food) over charcoal, especially on a grill.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
a black amorphous form of carbon made by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air: used as a fuel, in smelting metal ores, in explosives, and as an absorbent See activated carbon
-
a stick or pencil of this for drawing
-
a drawing done in charcoal
-
short for charcoal grey
verb
Other Word Forms
- charcoaly adjective
Etymology
Origin of charcoal
1300–50; Middle English charcole, perhaps cherre char 3 + cole coal, though literal sense of the compound is unclear
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the part of the forest they control, he and other Romee youngsters heave logs to be burned and turned into charcoal, then sent by canoe to the provincial capital Kisangani.
From Barron's
Media manipulation has become, in contemporary art, almost as common as charcoal drawing was a century-and-a-half ago.
Solar has increased since early 2026 among those who can afford it -- while others turn to charcoal or cook over open fires.
From Barron's
Before the fighting, forests supplied roughly 70 percent of Sudan's energy consumption, primarily through charcoal and firewood, according to data from the African Forest Forum.
From Barron's
Would it be bamboo charcoal memory foam, a C-shaped full body or a honeycomb hole?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
