What does "coal" mean?
A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
Coal
/kəʊl/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
- Grammar: coal is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: alabaster, alcohol, anthracite, ash.
- Useful contrasts: peaty english soil, coal dust, defuel.
- Usage evidence: We have used our ration of coal for the week.
How to use "coal"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "coal" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "coal" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "coal" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "coal" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "coal" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "alabaster" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "coal", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel. uncountable
"The coal in this region was prized by ironmasters in centuries past, who mined it in the spots where the drainage methods of the day permitted."
- 2 a hot fragment of wood or coal that is left from a fire and is glowing or smoldering wordnet
- 3 A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.; A type of coal, such as bituminous, anthracite, or lignite, and grades and varieties thereof, as a fuel commodity ready to buy and burn. countable
"Put some coal on the fire."
- 4 fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period wordnet
- 5 A piece of coal used for burning (this use is less common in American English) countable
"Put some coals on the fire."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A glowing or charred piece of coal, wood, or other solid fuel. countable
"hot coals"
- 7 Charcoal. countable, uncountable
- 8 Content of low quality. Internet, countable, uncountable
"I'm so sick of seeing this coal online."
- 9 Bombs emitting black smoke on impact. countable, slang, uncountable
- 10 Money. countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To take on a supply of coal (usually of steam ships or locomotives). intransitive
"1863, Colonial Secretary to Commander Baldwin, USN shortly after that she coaled again at Simon's Bay; and that after remaining in the neighbourhood of our ports for a time, she proceeded to Mauritius, where she coaled again, and then returned to this colony."
- 2 take in coal wordnet
- 3 To supply with coal. transitive
"to coal a steamer"
- 4 supply with coal wordnet
- 5 To be converted to charcoal. intransitive
"After the initial burn the goal of any good fire should be coaling; that is, creating a bed of solid coals that will sustain the fire."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 burn to charcoal wordnet
- 7 To burn to charcoal; to char. transitive
"Char-coal of roots, coaled into great pieces."
- 8 To mark or delineate with charcoal. transitive
"[…] marvailing, he coaled out these rithms upon the wall near to the picture"
Adjective
- 1 Black like coal; coal-black. no-comparative
"... his coal hair / the corners of his warm smile / the blue of his gentle eyes. I wanted to explore him as Sir Francis Drake explored the New World. I wanted to tell my secrets to him as a Roman Catholic does in confession."
Proper Noun
- 1 An unincorporated community in Henry County, Missouri, United States, named after early settler Stephen Coale.
- 2 An unincorporated community and coal town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States.
- 3 Four townships in the United States, in Missouri, Ohio (2), and Pennsylvania, listed under Coal Township.
Antonyms
Example
"We have used our ration of coal for the week."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "coal"?
Common synonyms include: alabaster, alcohol, anthracite, ash, ashes, asphalt.
How do you use "coal" in a sentence?
We have used our ration of coal for the week.
How do you pronounce "coal"?
Pronounced /kəʊl/.
Etymology
From Middle English cole, from Old English col, from Proto-West Germanic *kol, from Proto-Germanic *kulą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵwelH- (“to burn, shine”). Cognate with West Frisian koal (“coal”), Cimbrian kholl (“coal”), Dutch kool (“coal; carbon”), German Kohle (“coal”), Luxembourgish Kuel (“coal”), Vilamovian köła (“coal”), Yiddish קויל (koyl, “coal”), Danish kul (“coal”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish kol (“coal; carbon”), Jamtish kuł (“coal; carbon”). Compare Middle Irish gúal (“coal”), Lithuanian žvi̇̀lti (“to twinkle, glow”), Persian زغال (zoġâl, “live coal”), Sanskrit ज्वल् (jval, “to burn, glow”), Tocharian B śoliye (“hearth”), all from the same root.