Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A black, porous, carbonaceous material, 85 to 98 percent carbon, produced by the destructive distillation of wood and used as a fuel, filter, and absorbent.
- n. A drawing pencil or crayon made from this material.
- n. A drawing executed with such a pencil or crayon.
- n. A dark grayish brown to black or dark purplish gray.
- v. To draw, write, or blacken with a black, carbonaceous material.
- v. To charbroil.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Coal made by subjecting wood to a process of smothered combustion; more generally, the carbonaceous residue of vegetable, animal, or combustible mineral substances which have been subjected to smothered combustion. Wood-charcoal is used as fuel and in the manufacture of gunpowder, and, from its power of absorbing gases, as a disinfectant and also as a filter. The different kinds of charcoal are employed for many purposes in the arts. See
carbon and coal. - n. A pencil of charcoal, used by artists.
- To blacken, write, or draw with charcoal; execute in charcoal: as, to charcoal one's eyebrows.
- To suffocate with the fumes of charcoal.
Wiktionary
- n. Impure carbon obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of oxygen.
- n. A stick of black carbon material used for drawing.
- n. A drawing made with charcoal.
- n. A very dark gray colour.
- adj. Of a dark gray colour.
- v. To draw with charcoal
- v. To cook over charcoal
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Impure carbon prepared from vegetable or animal substances; esp., coal made by charring wood in a kiln, retort, etc., from which air is excluded. It is used for fuel and in various mechanical, artistic, and chemical processes.
- n. Finely prepared charcoal in small sticks, used as a drawing implement.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. of a very dark grey
- n. a drawing made with a stick of black carbon material
- n. a carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air
- n. a very dark grey color
- n. a stick of black carbon material used for drawing
- v. draw, trace, or represent with charcoal
Etymologies
- Middle English charcol : char (perhaps from Old French charbon, from Latin carbō; see carbon) + col, charcoal, coal; see coal.
Examples
“The oil burns intensely for several minutes before the paper wick burns up, and by that time, your charcoal is ablaze like the Cuyahoga River.”
You gonna eat that? Random musings on food and life in Orange County, California » 2006 » April
“The foliage is exceptional as well, a very dark shade of green that looks almost charcoal from a distance.”
The New White Knock Out Rose is here!!!! « Sugar Creek Gardens’ Blog
“Gastric decontamination with activated charcoal is recommended.”
poison prevention for Delaware, Lehigh Valley, S.E. Pennsylvania
“Ortega - who works in charcoal, silkscreen and colored etchings - has drawn a maid tidying a hotel bed, a carpenter hammering a roof.”
Voice of America: Mexican-American Artist Brings Immigrant Experience Out of Shadows
“Gastric emptying via emesis or lavage should be performed in patients who have ingested greater than 40-60 mg./kg. of elemental iron or an unknown amount. 1 Activated charcoal is not useful, unless there are co-ingestants, since it does not bind metals such as iron. 1 Iron tablets are radiopaque, therefore, an abdominal radiograph should be performed to determine if there is evidence of iron tablets in the stomach or small bowel.”
“A mule-powered railway was built to haul charcoal from the hinterlands to a loading pier on the south shore of the Toms River where coasting vessels took on cargo for Philadelphia and New York.”
“The charcoal is then sprayed with calcium, which creates calcium carbide, then heated further under intense pressure and treated with a phosphate solution.”
“The demand for wood [for normal wood uses and also for making charcoal] is strong.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Democracy and the Appeal of Socialism
“Isager Wool 1 in charcoal grey free guacamole healing”
“I would love the Wrap Pant, style # LW5591S in charcoal/heathered light lolo ($98).”
Lululemon Canada Free $100 of items! - SmartCanucks Giveaways Day 1 Canada
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘charcoal’.
-
Mandles, Candles for Men
candles with a "manly" scent
a1 steak sauce, baseball glove, grillin' out, campfire, pigskin, bowling alley, musty locker room, chuck norris sweat, urinal deodorizer, bait shop, wet dog, hardware store and 188 more...
-
Uncommon Colours
azure, myrtle, periwinkle, viridian, jade, emerald, lime, chartreuse, asparagus, celadon, harlequin, olive and 147 more...
-
Colors
Colors
yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green, lime, taupe, fuschia, eggshell, aqua, teal and 18 more...

Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.