coke

¹

[kohk]

noun

1. the solid product resulting from the destructive distillation of coal in an oven or closed chamber or by imperfect combustion, consisting principally of carbon: used chiefly as a fuel in metallurgy to reduce metallic oxides to metals.

verb (used with or without object)

coked, coking 

1. to convert into or become coke.

Coke

²

[kohk]

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

1. a carbonated soft drink.

coke

³

[kohk]

noun

1. cocaine.

verb (used with object)

1. to bring (oneself) to a specified state or point by using cocaine.

   She drank and smoked and coked herself into a heart attack.

   Sadly, this promising hockey player coked himself out of an NHL job.

verb phrase

1. coke up / out,  to drug (oneself or another), especially with cocaine.

   The episode starts with her haggardly coking up and then packing her kids off to school.

   They coked her out, stole all her cash, and left her wandering in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

Coke

⁴

Or Cooke

[kook]

noun

1. Sir Edward, 1552–1634, English jurist and writer on law.

coke

¹

/ kəʊk /

noun

1. 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

2. any similar material, such as the layer formed in the cylinders of a car engine by incomplete combustion of the fuel

verb

1. to become or convert into coke

Coke

²

/ kʊk, kəʊk /

noun

1. 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

2. 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

Coke

³

/ kəʊk /

noun

1. short for Coca-Cola

coke

⁴

/ kəʊk /

noun

1. slang,  short for cocaine

Other Word Forms

• cokelike adjective
• coky adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coke¹

1375–1425; late Middle English colke, coke, equivalent to Old English col coal + -( o ) ca -ock

Origin of coke²

From Coke, the brand name of a carbonated cola drink

Origin of coke³

An Americanism first recorded in 1905–10; short for cocaine

Word History and Origins

Origin of coke¹

C17: probably a variant of C14 northern English dialect colk core, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

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

“The first thing I saw was Britney and her young starlet friend snorting a fat line of coke off the table,” he said in his book.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Energy prices are markedly higher in Europe than in most other steel-producing countries, on top of which politicians have goaded many producers into big investments in electrification to reduce gas and coke burning.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“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.”

Read more on Barron's

On “Actually Romantic,” listeners point to lyrics like “when the coke’s got you brave” as a nod to Charli’s drug-heavy songs from “brat.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crack 
• dope 
• poison 
• stimulant