char

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈchär 

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

intransitive verb

: to become charred

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

: charwoman

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• scorch
• bake
• singe
• sear
• light

Noun (3)

• housekeeper
• maid
• handmaid

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

Noun

As Aerohart explains of its own device, the user simply puts the tinder – char cloth seems to be the most recommended – inside the cavity at the tip of the removable piston rod, reinstalls the piston back into the cylinder, then firmly and rapidly depresses it. —New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025

Signature items include spare ribs lacquered with red char siu glaze and five-spice duck legs with silky, luxurious dark meat beneath a shatteringly crisp skin. —Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025

Verb

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning Monday afternoon for a small area around Calistoga in Napa County where the Pickett Fire, a wildfire that charred 6,800 acres, burned in August, due to concerns about possible debris flows and mudslides. —Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 14 Oct. 2025

Federal investigators say a Florida man has been arrested in connection with one of the most destructive wildfires in California history, a blaze that began as a New Year’s spark that charred some 7,000 structures and killed 12 people. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025

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

Phrases Containing char

• arctic char

Rhymes for char

• ar
• are
• bar
• barr
• car
• carr
• charr
• czar
• far
• farre
• haar
• har

Kids Definition

char

1 of 3 noun

ˈchär 

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

: charcoal