Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Black as a coal, or as charcoal, or, as often in modern use, black as mineral coal; very black.
  • noun A deep black like that of charcoal; or a deep, shining black with a slight bluish tinge, like that of anthracite coal.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective As black as coal; jet black; very black.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a very dark black
  • adjective of the blackest black; similar to the color of jet or coal

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The most popular dance hall in the neighborhood was owned by Pete Williams, described as a “well-to-do, coal-black Negro, who has made an immense amount of money from the profits of his dance-house.”

    A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010

  • Regin supposed his thick coal-black hair was nice, and his features were attractive enough.

    Dreams of a Dark Warrior Kresley Cole 2011

  • The teeth were worn down by the constant friction of the metallic brads, while they were coal-black and rotten.

    FRYING-PAN ALLEY AND A GLIMPSE OF INFERNO 2010

  • Graham, riding solitary through the redwood canyons among the hills that overlooked the ranch center, was getting acquainted with Selim, the eleven-hundred-pound, coal-black gelding which Dick had furnished him in place of the lighter Altadena.

    CHAPTER XXI 2010

  • Malemute, nor Hudson Bay; he looked like all of them and he didn't look like any of them; and on top of it all he had some of the white man's dog in him, for on one side, in the thick of the mixed yellow - brown-red-and-dirty-white that was his prevailing colour, there was a spot of coal-black as big as a water-bucket.

    That Spot 2010

  • Â As the Shadowpact head home, the last image we see is Nightmaster, riding his coal-black steed into battle with a dragon, Sword of Night held high, laughing … Â “Now THIS is the life!”

    Shadowpact #22 | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News 2009

  • Not a dozen feet away another Shetland, a coal-black one, was behaving as peculiarly as it was being treated.

    CHAPTER XXV 2010

  • AND, INDEED, THE Dark Ages did turn out to be extremely dark: coal-black and jet-black, pitch-black and ink-black.

    Bubble in the Bathtub Jo Nesbo 2011

  • The moon was almost full, so there was plenty of light to steer by, although a coal-black cat nearly crossed my path, and I had a nasty swerve trying to avoid it.

    The Dark Side of Innocence Terri Cheney 2011

  • He wasn't husky, nor Malemute, nor Hudson Bay; he looked like all of them and he didn't look like any of them; and on top of it all he had some of the white man's dog in him, for on one side, in the thick of the mixed yellow-brown-red-and-dirty-white that was his prevailing color, there was a spot of coal-black as big as a water-bucket.

    That Spot 2010

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