char

¹

[chahr]

verb (used with object)

charred, charring 

1. to burn or reduce to charcoal.

   The fire charred the paper.

2. to burn slightly; scorch.

   The flame charred the steak.

   Synonyms: sear, singe

verb (used without object)

charred, charring 

1. to become charred.

noun

1. a charred material or surface.

2. charcoal.

3. a superior carbon-rich fuel, a by-product of the conversion of coal into gaseous or liquid fuel.

char

²

Or charr

[chahr]

noun

plural

char ,

plural

chars .

1. any trout of the genus Salvelinus (orCristovomer ), especially the Arctic char.

char

³

[chahr]

noun

1. a charwoman.

2. a task, especially a household chore.

3. chars, odd jobs, especially of housework, for which one is paid by the hour or day.

verb (used without object)

charred, charring 

1. to work at housecleaning by the day or hour; hire oneself out to do odd jobs.

verb (used with object)

charred, charring 

1. to do (housework, odd jobs, or chores); clean or repair.

char

⁴

[chahr]

noun

British Informal.

1. tea.

Char

⁵

[shar]

noun

1. René 1907–1988, French poet.

char.

⁶

abbreviation

1. character.

2. charter.

char

¹

/ tʃɑː /

verb

1. to burn or be burned partially, esp so as to blacken the surface; scorch

2. (tr) to reduce (wood) to charcoal by partial combustion

char

²

/ tʃɑː /

noun

1. informal,  short for charwoman

verb

1. informal,  to do housework, cleaning, etc, as a job

char

³

/ tʃɑː /

noun

1. any of various troutlike fishes of the genus Salvelinus, esp S. alpinus, occurring in cold lakes and northern seas: family Salmonidae (salmon)

char

⁴

/ tʃɑː /

noun

1. a slang word for tea

Word History and Origins

Origin of char¹

First recorded in 1670–80; apparently extracted from charcoal; chark

Origin of char²

First recorded in 1655–65; perhaps unattested Old English ceorra literally, “turner,” derivative of ceorran “to turn,” it being thought of as swimming to and fro time and again; char ³

Origin of char³

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, Old English cerr, cierr “turn, time, occasion, affair,” derivative of cierran “to turn”

Origin of char⁴

First recorded in 1915–20; from Hindi cā “tea” ( tea ); for spelling with r arvo, Parcheesi ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of char¹

C17: short for _charcoal

Origin of char²

C18: from Old English cerr

Origin of char³

C17: of unknown origin

Origin of char⁴

from Chinese ch'a

Example Sentences

An unlikely, spicy, crunchy retooling of spaghetti with chili-spiked tomato sauce, it requires cooking the pasta and the sauce in the same pan, to the point of charring.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A hiker clambers across a scorched landscape of ash, his footsteps crunching on charred earth as he peers over a ridge at a burn scar pocked with blackened stumps.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"The assailants set the vehicle on fire to spread fear, completely charring the bodies of the six victims," the official said.

Read more on Barron's

Nature Friends lodge, built with quaint Bavarian styling by German immigrants in 1923, had been reduced by the fire to heaps of charred timber, twisted metal and broken dishes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Smoke was still rising from the charred remains on Sunday.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• burn