charcoal

American  

[chahr-kohl] / ˈtʃɑrˌkoʊl /

noun

1. the carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic substances in the absence of air.

2. a drawing pencil of charcoal.

3. a drawing made with charcoal.

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verb (used with object)

1. to blacken, write, or draw with charcoal.

2. to cook (food) over charcoal, especially on a grill.

verb (used without object)

1. to cook food over charcoal, especially on a grill.

charcoal British  

/ ˈtʃɑːˌkəʊl /

noun

1. 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

2. a stick or pencil of this for drawing

3. a drawing done in charcoal

4. short for charcoal grey

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verb

1. (tr) to write, draw, or blacken with charcoal

charcoal Scientific  

/ chär′kōl′ /

1. A black porous form of carbon produced by heating wood or bone in little or no air. Charcoal is used as a fuel, for drawing, and in air and water filters.

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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

Explanation

Charcoal is the black substance left over when wood is heated in the absence of oxygen. You can cook with charcoal by burning it in your backyard grill. Charcoal is used in many ways, but its most important use has probably been by blacksmiths and other metal workers, who historically used extremely hot charcoal fires to heat metal. Charcoal is also used to make explosive blasting powders and common water filters. One theory of the word's origin combines the obsolete verb charren, "to turn," and cole, "coal" — in other words, "to turn to coal."

Example Sentences

One man in the small town of Aguacate made headlines after he modified his 1980 Fiat Polski to run on charcoal, the same fuel many people here are now cooking with.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

After India restricted LPG supplies this month, catering companies were forced to prune their offerings for weddings and other parties—or find other fuels, such as charcoal and wood.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

To better understand past fire activity, researchers examined charcoal preserved in peat deposits from Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.

From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026

"During the war, Khartoum state has lost 60 percent of its green cover," Hamed said, describing how century-old trees "were cut down with electric saws" for commercial timber and charcoal production.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

Father and some of the other workers used animal fat and charcoal to draw the shape of the obelisk on the granite.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

Related Words

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