charcoal

1 of 2

noun

char·​coal ˈchär-ˌkōl 

1

: a dark or black porous carbon prepared from vegetable or animal substances (as from wood by charring in a kiln from which air is excluded)

2

a

: a piece or pencil of fine charcoal used in drawing

b

: a charcoal drawing

3

: a dark gray

charcoal

2 of 2

verb

charcoaled; charcoaling; charcoals

transitive verb

: charbroil

Examples of charcoal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Combined with historical records, Wang and colleagues say the pollen and charcoal buried in those sediments point to a dramatic increase in the local population and the scale of their agricultural industry. —ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2025

Here, the emphasis is on clean flavors, with a charcoal grill and wood oven producing wild prawns, smoked guanciale pizza, and roasted eggplant. —Elise Taylor, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2025

Verb

Diet: People who eat lots of salty foods, processed, grilled, or charcoaled meats. —John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 6 Feb. 2024

Ocean Motion: India food critic, journalist, TV personality and talk show host, Vir Sangi accompanies Rosenthal to Trishna, a superb seafood restaurant, for fish curry, charcoaled jumbo prawns, lobster in chili sauce and butter-garlic crab. —Laura Manske, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English charcole

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for charcoal

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol
• flagpole

Kids Definition

charcoal

noun

char·​coal

ˈchär-ˌkōl

1

: a dark or black absorbent carbon made by heating animal or vegetable material in the absence of air

2

a

: a piece or pencil of charcoal used in drawing

b

: a charcoal drawing

Medical Definition

charcoal

noun

char·​coal ˈchär-ˌkōl 

: a dark or black porous carbon prepared from vegetable or animal substances (as from wood by charring in a kiln from which air is excluded) see activated charcoal