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.
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 workers fled, leaving behind uneaten bowls of noodles, half-drunk cans of coke and a pungent smell.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 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
Above, facing the counter, a blonde, sun-burned college girl smiled down, inviting all and sundry to drink a coke.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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
Stores can sell cucumbers or cans of Coke because they qualify as snacks, but not zucchini or cans of beans, which can’t be consumed on the go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
To increase our odds, everyone in my BBC newsroom has been giving me their Coke wrappers.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
He shook his head and looked at the label of his Coke can.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
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 Babbage, Charles
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 Manly, Harold P. (Harold Phillips)
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 Porter, Rufus
In the fire, a similar breaking away of the surface takes place, and when coked, the coal is but moderately coherent.
From Peat and its Uses as Fertilizer and Fuel by Johnson, Samuel W. (Samuel William)
To take the welding heat the fire should be cleaned out and clear coked coal, and not gaseous coal, used.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Rose, Joshua
The supplies needed to keep them running - coking coal and iron pellets - are also running low.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 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
The resource powered steamships, heated homes, and supported metal production through coking processes.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 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.
