What does "coke" mean?
Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel.
Coke
/koʊk/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel.
- Grammar: coke is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: blow, snow, alabaster, alcohol.
- Useful contrasts: decarbonize, depressant, noncarbonated beverage.
- Usage evidence: Can I have two hamburgers and a coke, please?
How to use "coke"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "coke" 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 "coke" 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 "coke" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "coke" 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 "coke" is acting as 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 "blow" 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 "coke", 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 Solid residue from roasting coal in a coke oven; used principally as a fuel and in the production of steel and formerly as a domestic fuel. uncountable
"The plant should produce approximately 550,000 tons of screened blast furnace coke per year."
- 2 Cocaine. informal, slang, uncountable
- 3 Alternative letter-case form of Coke (cola-based soft drink, especially Coca-Cola). alt-of, informal, uncountable
- 4 Cola-based soft drink; (in particular) Coca-Cola. countable, informal, uncountable
- 5 street names for cocaine wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Alternative letter-case form of Coke (a serving of cola-based soft drink, especially Coca-Cola). alt-of, countable, informal
- 7 A bottle, glass or can of Coca-Cola or a cola-based soft drink. countable, informal
"The waiter came up, and I ordered a Coke for her—she didn't drink—and a Scotch and soda for myself, but the sonuvabitch wouldn't bring me one, so I had a Coke, too."
- 8 Coca Cola is a trademarked cola wordnet
- 9 Alternative letter-case form of Coke (any soft drink, regardless of type). Southern-US, US, alt-of, informal
- 10 Any soft drink, regardless of type. Southern-US, US, countable, especially, informal, uncountable
- 11 carbon fuel produced by distillation of coal wordnet
Verb
- 1 To produce coke from coal. transitive
- 2 become coke wordnet
- 3 To turn into coke. intransitive
- 4 To add deleterious carbon deposits as a byproduct of combustion. especially
"In kerolox engines, some of the fuel flow cokes in the engine's cooling passages over time, requiring thorough cleaning prior to reuse."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Can I have two hamburgers and a coke, please?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "coke"?
Common synonyms include: blow, snow, alabaster, alcohol, amphetamine, amphetamine sulfate.
How do you use "coke" in a sentence?
Can I have two hamburgers and a coke, please?
How do you pronounce "coke"?
Pronounced /koʊk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
The origin is not certain. The OED says it is first attested in 1669. The MED has an earlier attestation in the related sense of "charcoal" in 1430: Middle English coke. This may be the same word as colk (“core”) (perhaps from the notion that coke is the core of the material left after it burning), from Old English *colc (“hole, well”), from Proto-West Germanic *kolk, from Proto-Germanic *kulukaz (“a hollow, depression”), from Proto-Indo-European *g(ʷ)el- (“to swallow, devour; gullet”). If so, cognate with Saterland Frisian Kolk (“maelstrom, depression, whirlpool”), West Frisian kolk (“maelstrom, whirlpool”), Dutch kolk (“maelstrom, vortex, whirlpool”), German Kolk (“pothole”).
Etymology 2
Originated circa 1908 in American English as a clipping of cocaine.
Etymology 3
1909, from the name of the American company Coca-Cola and the beverage it produced; the drink was named for two of its original ingredients, coca leaves and cola nut.
Etymology 4
Clipping of Coca-Cola. See coke (“cola”).