coal

American  

[kohl] / koʊl /

noun

• coals
  plural

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.

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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.

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.

coal British  

/ 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

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verb

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

coal Scientific  

/ kōl /

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

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coal More Idioms  

1. see carry coals to Newcastle; rake over the coals.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coalless
  adjective
• coaly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• coals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of coal

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

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Explanation

Coal is a mineral, a black rock that can be extracted from the earth and burned for fuel. Most of the electricity that's produced in the world is powered by the burning of coal. Coal may seem like an old-fashioned fuel, making you think of steam locomotives that ran on coal, or coal fires heating homes in the nineteenth century. Some people still burn coal in stoves today, although most coal is burned on a much larger scale, generating electricity for entire towns and cities. You can also use the noun coal to mean a glowing ember in your fireplace or backyard grill. In Old English, it was col, from a Germanic root.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coal coals

The incident saw a junior school and surrounding houses in the village engulfed in coal slurry after a colliery spoil tip collapsed on 21 October 1966.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

One Indian crew member died in the attack on the ship which was carrying about 170,000 tons of coal from the United Arab Emirates to India.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Black lung, that scourge of coal miners, had been identified in the mid-19th century but its cause, the inhalation of coal dust, did not come under federal oversight until 1969.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

During the visit to the community centre they will meet retired emergency service workers who helped respond to the coal tip collapse, including a 96-year-old woman who was a police officer at the time.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

He filled a pot-bellied stove from a small coal scuttle, for all the world a kindly German householder entertaining a guest.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

A startup CEO recently got raked over the internet’s coals for bringing a tattoo artist to a party and offering job interviews to anyone willing to get inked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

So he kicked it with his boot, exposing red-hot coals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

Before, his customers were primarily pizzerias or grilled-meat restaurants, who cook over coals; now they are families.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

My friend goes for Netflix’s original seasonal blockbuster, “Fireplace For Your Home,” which shows nothing but a burning wonder slowly fading to glowing coals and feathery ash.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025

He watched the red coals through the open draft in the stove door brighten each time the wind blew loud enough to make a low whistling noise in the stovepipe.

From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong

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