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
Inventories have resumed building, while stronger coking coal and coke prices are reshaping profit distribution across the steelmaking chain, adding further pressure on iron ore, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 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
But she warns against using caffeinated fizzy drinks like coke as a way of regularly managing migraines.
From BBC ● May 31, 2025
“Except it’s not carbon. You use coke to make steel. Coke and lime.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
A quintessential cool dad casually sipping on an iced Diet Coke as he shares anecdotes about his passion for acting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
A new Diet Coke ad is reminiscent of Marlboro’s iconic branding.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026
“You won’t see Coke or Disney or Nike in my degenerate economy, but you see all the exchanges,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
As we chatted on our way to and from the lobby, I thought about a long-ago Coke business trip—a wartime journey to North Africa—that eventually led to the company’s planetary dominance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
She said it flat as a glass of Coke left out.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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
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
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
No coals are now coked at the Clyde iron works; at all the three furnaces the iron is smelted with coals.
From On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures by Charles Babbage
Inventories have resumed building, while stronger coking coal and coke prices are reshaping profit distribution across the steelmaking chain, adding further pressure on iron ore, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
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
The smell of the coking plant coming in under the dawn, the first reliable smell of every day.
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.
