Pronunciation Noun
coal
- (uncountable) A black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
- Put some coal on the fire.
- (countable) A piece of coal used for burning (this use is less common in American English)
- Put some coals on the fire.
- (countable) A type of coal, such as bituminous, anthracite, or lignite, and grades and varieties thereof.
- (countable) A glowing or charred piece of coal, wood, or other solid fuel.
- Just as the camp-fire died down to just coals, with no flames to burn the marshmallows, someone dumped a whole load of wood on, so I gave up and went to bed.
- Charcoal.
- French: charbon, houille
- German: Kohle, Steinkohle
- Italian: carbone
- Portuguese: carvão
- Russian: у́голь
- Spanish: carbón, hullero
coal (coals, present participle coaling; past and past participle coaled)
- (intransitive) To take on a supply of coal (usually of steam ships).
- 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.
- 1863, Colonial Secretary to Commander Baldwin, USN
- (transitive) To supply with coal.
- to coal a steamer
- January 1917, National Geographic Magazine, Volume 31 Number 1, One Hundred British Seaports
- Cruisers may be coaled at sea and provided with ammunition openly. The submarine may not
- (intransitive) To be converted to charcoal.
- 2014, Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel, Farming the Woods
- 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.
- 2014, Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel, Farming the Woods
- (transitive) To burn to charcoal; to char.
- '1622, Francis Bacon, Natural History
- Char-coal of roots, coaled into great pieces.
- '1622, Francis Bacon, Natural History
- (transitive) To mark or delineate with charcoal.
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