a solid-fuel product containing about 80 per cent of carbon produced by distillation of coal to drive off its volatile constituents: used as a fuel and in metallurgy as a reducing agent for converting metal oxides into metals
any similar material, such as the layer formed in the cylinders of a car engine by incomplete combustion of the fuel
Sir Edward. 1552–1634, English jurist, noted for his defence of the common law against encroachment from the Crown: the Petition of Right (1628) was largely his work
Thomas William, 1st Earl of Leicester, known as Coke of Holkham. 1752–1842, English agriculturist: pioneered agricultural improvement and considerably improved productivity at his Holkham estate in Norfolk
1375–1425; late Middle English colke, coke, equivalent to Old English col coal + -( o ) ca -ock
An Americanism first recorded in 1905–10; short for cocaine
From Coke, the brand name of a carbonated cola drink
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Because it’s the first contract with Nippon Steel, they’d like to have a quick signing and smooth transition,” said Andrew Macey, a worker at Mon Valley’s coke plant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Exxon has said it is targeting a more than 50% increase in Permian output between 2025 and 2030 in part by using petroleum coke, a refinery byproduct, to recover more molecules as it fracks wells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
“I had to take a few jelly beans and coke to get going. It wasn’t the prettiest innings but sometimes you’ve got to do it ugly.”
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
He says it's the caffeine and sugar in coke that helps him.
From BBC ● May 31, 2025
Lefty could see die train tracks now, the huge silos along the river, the giant spice box of coal, coke, and iron ore, and the catwalks stretching overhead like giant spiders.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
But for Benson, it’s Coke and Fairlife chocolate milk these days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
For much of the series, $3.49 got you a tape at participating McDonald’s, alongside a small vanilla cone or Diet Coke.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
"As finance minister I will not present a tax under which sugar-free drinks are taxed," Klingbeil, reportedly a big Coke Zero fan, told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Neuhardenberg, outside Berlin.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
German government proposals to include Coke Zero and other artificially-sweetened drinks in its new sugar tax fizzled out Wednesday after pushback within the ruling coalition and from businesses.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Then Coach Murphy cried out, “Free Cokes!” and the Old Dominion Kiwanis sprinted toward the Coke stand.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
All of these, when coked, may be served on slices of toasted bread, or served in Pattie-cases, with cream sauce, or served simply with cream sauce.
From Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit among the "Pennsylvania Germans" by Edith Thomas
After the wood is completely charred, or the coal become coked, the subsequent changes are the same that happen in the charcoal furnaces.
From Scientific American magazine Vol 2. No. 3 Oct 10 1846 The Advocate of Industry and Journal of Scientific, Mechanical and Other Improvements by Rufus Porter
The best form of fire to use is one having rather high banks of coked coal on each side of the mass, leaving an opening or channel from end to end.
From Oxy-Acetylene Welding and Cutting Electric, Forge and Thermit Welding together with related methods and materials used in metal working and the oxygen process for removal of carbon by Harold P. (Harold Phillips) Manly
With air heated and coals not coked; 2 1/4; 3 1/4; 7 1/2; 65 Notes.
From On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures by Charles Babbage
In the case of bituminous coal, Bunsen and Playfair find that it has to descend still lower before it is perfectly coked.
From Scientific American magazine Vol 2. No. 3 Oct 10 1846 The Advocate of Industry and Journal of Scientific, Mechanical and Other Improvements by Rufus Porter
The resource powered steamships, heated homes, and supported metal production through coking processes.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026
SSAB’s so-called fossil-free steel replaces the coking coal traditionally used for iron ore-based steelmaking with electricity from renewable sources and hydrogen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Both are heavy, high-sulfur crudes purchased primarily by complex U.S. refiners with coking capacity.
From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026
Also known as met or coking coal, it is key to the chemical reactions that produce steel and other metals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Nine herons stand like flowers in the canal beside the coking plant.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
