coal

[kohl]

noun

1. a black or dark-brown combustible mineral substance consisting of carbonized vegetable matter, used as a fuel.

2. a piece of glowing, charred, or burned wood or other combustible substance.

3. charcoal.

verb (used with object)

1. to burn to coal or charcoal.

2. to provide with coal.

verb (used without object)

1. to take in coal for fuel.

coal

/ kəʊl /

noun

1. 1. a combustible compact black or dark-brown carbonaceous rock formed from compaction of layers of partially decomposed vegetation: a fuel and a source of coke, coal gas, and coal tar See also anthracite bituminous coal lignite peat 1

   2. ( as modifier )

      coal cellar

      coal merchant

      coal mine

      coal dust

2. one or more lumps of coal

3. short for charcoal

4. something supplied where it is already plentiful

5. to reprimand someone

verb

1. to take in, provide with, or turn into coal

coal

1. A dark-brown to black solid substance formed from the compaction and hardening of fossilized plant parts in the presence of water and in the absence of air. Carbonaceous material accounts for more than 50 percent of coal's weight and more than 70 percent of its volume. Coal is widely used as a fuel, and its combustion products are used as raw material for a variety of products including cement, asphalt, wallboard and plastics.

2. See more at anthracite bituminous coal lignite

Other Word Forms

• coalless adjective
• coaly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coal¹

before 900; Middle English cole, Old English col; cognate with Dutch kool, German Kohle, Old Norse kol

Word History and Origins

Origin of coal¹

Old English col; related to Old Norse kol, Old High German kolo, Old Irish gūal

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. heap coals of fire on someone's head, to repay evil with good in order to make one's enemy repent.

2. rake / haul / drag / call / take over the coals, to reprimand; scold.

   They were raked over the coals for turning out slipshod work.

see carry coals to Newcastle; rake over the coals.

Example Sentences

When it comes to signs of economic disruption, logistics companies are the canaries in the coal mine.

Read more on MarketWatch

Comedy is the canary in the coal mine for free speech.

Read more on Salon

Before the war it had a population of some 60,000 people and the city is close to Ukraine's only mine producing coking coal, which is vital for the steel industry.

Read more on BBC

"I think as Wales was once in charge of the Industrial Revolution through its coal, we could be leading a green revolution through geothermal energy."

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Bitcoin remains one of the market’s favorite risk on barometers, and its recent weakness may be the canary in the coal mine on that front.

Read more on Barron's