char

1 of 5

noun (1)

variants or less commonly charr
plural char or chars also charr or charrs
: any of a genus (Salvelinus) of small-scaled trouts with light-colored spots

char

2 of 5

verb (1)

charred; charring

transitive verb

1
: to convert to charcoal or carbon usually by heat : burn
2
: to burn slightly or partly : scorch
the fire charred the beams

char

3 of 5

noun (2)

plural chars
1
: a charred substance : charcoal
specifically : a combustible residue remaining after the destructive distillation of coal
2
: a darkened crust produced on grilled food
Because gas grills generally produce less heat than charcoal grills, the steak requires a longer cooking time (and less frequent flipping) to develop a nice char.David Pazmiño

char

4 of 5

verb (2)

charred; charring

intransitive verb

: to work as a cleaning woman

char

5 of 5

noun (3)

British

Examples of char in a Sentence

Verb (1) I'd like my hamburger charred, but not cooked through Noun (3) a busy executive who leaves most of the cooking and cleaning to the char
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
For the remaining clubs and suites, specialty food is available for purchase, separated by categories: pizza, Baja (Mexican), burger, BBQ, stadium favorites, charred (Mediterranean), sushi, and sandwiches. Kaila Yu, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024 The new acres charred also pushed California across a grim milestone: 1 million acres burned in 2024. Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024 The palate is rich with flavors of buttered brown sugar crumbles, tart cherries, and a berry medley jam, while the finish lingers with hints of cherry pipe tobacco, charred oak, and a touch of sweet habanero pepper. Gege Reed, The Courier-Journal, 1 Oct. 2024 Avoid burning or charring food, as the muscle meat of beef, pork, fish or poultry produces DNA-damaging chemicals when grilled at high temperatures or over an open flame. Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for char 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'char.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Verb (1)

charcoal

Verb (2)

charwoman

Noun (3)

by shortening

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1662, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1679, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1732, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of char was in 1662

Dictionary Entries Near char

Cite this Entry

“Char.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/char. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

char

1 of 3 noun
plural char or chars
: any of a genus of trouts that have small scales and include the common brook trout

char

2 of 3 verb
charred; charring
1
: to change or become changed to charcoal or carbon usually by heat : burn
2
: to burn or become burned partly or slightly : scorch

char

3 of 3 noun

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