anthracite

American  

[an-thruh-sahyt] / ˈæn θrəˌsaɪt /

noun

1. a mineral coal containing little of the volatile hydrocarbons and burning almost without flame; hard coal.

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anthracite British  

/ ˈænθrəˌsaɪt, ˌænθrəˈsɪtɪk /

noun

1. Also called: hard coal.  a hard jet-black coal that burns slowly with a nonluminous flame giving out intense heat. Fixed carbon content: 86–98 per cent; calorific value: 3.14 × 10 ⁷ –3.63 × 10 ⁷ J/kg

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anthracite Scientific  

/ ăn′thrə-sīt′ /

1. A hard, shiny coal that has a high carbon content. It is valued as a fuel because it burns with a clean flame and without smoke or odor, but it is much less abundant than bituminous coal.

2. Compare bituminous coal lignite

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Other Word Forms

• anthracitic adjective
• anthracitous adjective

Etymology

Origin of anthracite

1810–15; probably < French < Latin (Pliny) anthracītis kind of coal. See anthrac-, -ite ¹

Compare meaning

How does anthracite compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• anthracite vs. bituminous coal

Example Sentences

According to ABC España, the site had been a major mine before its closure in 2018, and had since been intermittently used by private companies to extract the mineral anthracite.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2025

They grabbed the easel, found crimson and anthracite paint and splattered the colors across the canvas.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 10, 2023

Rival steelmaker Arcelormittal Nippon Steel India shipped in 35,000 tonnes of Russian anthracite coal using euros, a customs document dated June 15 showed.

From Reuters • Aug. 10, 2022

With even more heat and pressure driving out all the volatiles and leaving pure carbon, anthracite can turn to graphite.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

The great irony of anthracite is that, tough as it is to light, once you get it lit it’s nearly impossible to put out.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson