carl
noun
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carl
1 American
[kahrl]
/ kɑrl /
Or
carle
noun
-
Scot.
-
a strong, robust fellow, especially a strong manual laborer.
-
a miser; an extremely thrifty person.
-
-
Archaic. a churl.
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Obsolete. a bondman.
Carl
2
American
[kahrl]
/ kɑrl /
noun
carl
British
/ kɑːl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carl
before 1000 (in compounds; see housecarl); Middle English; Old English -carl < Old Norse karl man; cognate with Old High German karl; akin to churl
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Aye, child, and more's the pity: he is the ablest carl I have known; but Denmark has given birth to him to her own ruin.
From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin
Cook Morten cares little about state affairs, I know; and he is a merry, good-natured carl, in whom I find much amusement.
From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin
"Treason! vile treason!" roars an elfin carl; "Here's a base mortal from the outer warl'!"
From Legends of the North; The Guidman O' Inglismill and The Fairy Bride by Buchan, Patrick
Thou art too sage a carl, Henner, not to make something better than a penitent.
From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin
Now this I must say, that thou dost not look exactly the kind of carl who should woo a jarl's daughter.
From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin
His brothers Carl and Thomas said: "Even though you were our younger brother we always looked up to you."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Carl Reiner similarly declared: “I saw what I thought was the funniest ad-libbed thing I had ever seen. It was a riot, and we never stopped laughing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Slate music critic Carl Wilson argues that the singer’s new album is a middle finger to the expectations of being an “It Girl.”
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Carl and his family travelled to Rome from Yorkshire.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
“No, but his father was there. He went,” Carl said.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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.
