carl
carl
1 American
[kahrl]
/ kɑrl /
Or
carle
noun
-
Scot.
-
a strong, robust fellow, especially a strong manual laborer.
-
a miser; an extremely thrifty person.
-
-
Archaic. a churl.
-
Obsolete. a bondman.
Carl
2
American
[kahrl]
/ kɑrl /
noun
carl
British
/ kɑːl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carl
before 1000 (in compounds; see housecarl); Middle English; Old English -carl < Old Norse karl man; cognate with Old High German karl; akin to churl
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.
See Examples For:
He was a tall, strange carl, in complete iron mail, and with a wild, audacious countenance.
From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Bernhard Severin Ingemann
Then cam in the carl cat, Wi’ a fiddle on his back.
From Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Bullen
Aye, child, and more's the pity: he is the ablest carl I have known; but Denmark has given birth to him to her own ruin.
From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Bernhard Severin Ingemann
"God knows." carl forgets his animosity in honest admiration for hugh.
From The Plastic Age by Percy Marks
Without you saw him on Sunday you would take him for a Brogadeer and a spaned to a carl did not know had to draw butter.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. - Volume 07 Historical and Political Tracts-Irish by Temple Scott
Her diaristic approach to songwriting also gave birth to hits like Jolene – written about a red-headed love rival – and All I Can Do, a heartfelt declaration of love to her husband, Carl Dean.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Aschenbrenner brought on a veteran of the EA movement, former hedge-fund investor Carl Shulman, to run the fund with him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
She was married to the same man, Carl Thomas Dean, for over 50 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her singing career and met her future husband, Carl Dean, on her very first day.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I’m, uhh—I’m glad we’re doing this. This search for Carl thing.”
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
