coal

coal — noun

1. A dark, rock-like fuel that people dig from underground. It formed over millions

1.nounC1
Definition

A dark, rock-like fuel that people dig from underground. It formed over millions of years as ancient plants decomposed under heavy layers of earth. Setting it on fire gives off intense heat, which people use to warm buildings and generate electricity.

Example

The power plant burns over five hundred tonnes of coal each day to keep the city's lights on.

collocation: burn coal — energy generation

Aiko picked up a dusty lump of coal from the pile and tossed it into the iron stove.

countable: a lump of coal

Common collocations
  • burn coal
  • mine coal
  • a lump of coal
  • coal seam
  • coal-fired power plant
  • coal industry
Synonyms
  • anthracite

    a very hard type of coal that burns with little smoke

  • coke

    coal that has been heated to remove gases, used in steelmaking

  • fossil fuel

    broader category that includes coal, oil, and natural gas

Antonyms

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when referring to the substance in general ('a tonne of coal,' 'coal mining'). Countable when talking about individual pieces ('a coal flew out of the fireplace').

Common Mistakes

We bought a bag of coal for the barbecue.
We bought a bag of charcoal for the barbecue.
Coal is a mined rock fuel used for heating and electricity; charcoal is made from burnt wood and used for cooking.
The black diamond is a type of coal.
The black diamond is a type of carbon, but it is not coal.
Coal and diamonds are both carbon-based but formed very differently.
Idioms

carry coals to Newcastle

idiom

To bring something to a place where it is already plentiful, so the action is pointless or wasteful.

Sending a pizza delivery menu to a restaurant that already serves pizza is like carrying coals to Newcastle.

Teaching a violin master class to the Berlin Philharmonic would be carrying coals to Newcastle.

haul someone over the coals

idiom

To speak angrily to someone because they have made a serious mistake or done something wrong.

The editor hauled the reporter over the coals for publishing the story without checking the facts.

After the team lost the contract, the boss hauled everyone over the coals at the morning meeting.

carry, take, etc. coals to Newcastle

idiom

To bring something to a place where it is already very common or plentiful.

Bringing sandwiches to the picnic was like carrying coals to Newcastle.

Selling ice to people in Alaska is taking coals to Newcastle, isn't it?

haul somebody over the coals

idiom

To speak angrily to someone because they have made a mistake.

The teacher hauled the student over the coals for cheating on the test.

My dad hauled me over the coals after I crashed his car.

coal — verb

Word family

  • coaling
    adjectiveC2
  • coal-fired
    adjectiveB2
  • coal mine
    nounB2
  • coal miner
    nounB2
  • coal mining
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to black carbon-based materials that can be burned, but they come from different sources and serve different purposes. Coal is the natural rock fuel mined from underground. Anthracite is a high-grade variety of coal — harder, shinier, and cleaner-burning than ordinary coal. Coke is a manufactured product: coal that has been heated in a low-oxygen oven to drive off gases, leaving nearly pure carbon for use in steelmaking. Charcoal is made from wood rather than rock; it is produced by slowly burning wood in a near-airless environment and is commonly used for outdoor grilling. If you order 'coal' for a barbecue you will get strange looks — what you want is charcoal. If you talk about 'coal mining' you always mean the rock fuel, never charcoal.

anthracitecoke ↗charcoal

Common collocations

Nouns

  • coal mine
  • coal miner
  • coal industry
  • coal fire
  • coal seam
  • coal dust
  • coal smoke

Phrases

  • lump of coal
  • tonne of coal
  • coal-fired power station
  • coal mining community

Prepositions

  • coal from
  • coal into
  • coal for

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'coal' comes from Old English 'col,' which originally meant a glowing ember or a piece of burning wood. That word traces back through Proto-Germanic '*kula(n)' to the Proto-Indo-European root '*g(e)u-lo-', meaning 'live coal' or 'glowing ember.' The modern meaning — the black rock-like fuel dug from the earth — emerged around the 13th century as people began mining this substance on a large scale. Interestingly, the old sense of 'live ember' survives in phrases like 'hot coals' and 'rake someone over the coals.'