coal
(koʊl )
Word forms: coals
1. uncountable noun B2
Coal is a hard black substance that is extracted from the ground and burned as fuel.
Gas-fired electricity is cheaper than coal.
Today, oil and natural gas have replaced coal and wood in most areas.
2. plural noun
Coals are burning pieces of coal.
The iron teakettle was hissing splendidly over live coals.
It is important to get the coals white-hot before you start cooking.
3. haul/drag sb over the coals phrase [VERB inflects, oft PHR for n/-ing]
If a person in authority hauls or drags someone over the coals, they speak to them severely about something foolish or wrong that they have done.
I heard later that Uncle Jim had been hauled over the coals for not letting anyone know where we were.
The museum's P.R. man was going to be dragged over the coals for sure.
4. coals to Newcastle phrase [usually verb PHRASE]
If someone is taking coals to Newcastle, they are trying to give or sell someone something that they already have a lot of.
Image of coal
© Mr. SUTTIPON YAKHAM, Shutterstock
Collocations:
coal consumption coal deposits coal dust coal emissions coal gasification coal output coal plant coal smoke coal stove coal supply coal town coal train coal truck dig coal extract coal glowing coals hot coals polluting coal production of coal reserves of coal shovel coal transport coal
They claim that giving up the oil sands would accelerate coal consumption.
Times, Sunday Times
Some of the times recorded were without precedent, yet were achieved with low coal consumption.
Times, Sunday Times
Coal consumption would fall, 300,000 high-polluting old vehicles would be phased out, 500 polluting factories would shut and 2,560 would be upgraded.
Times, Sunday Times
In addition, the hot recycled feedwater resulted in a significantly reduced coal consumption.
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In 2007, coal consumption was the highest it has ever been, with coal mostly being used to generate electricity.
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Union was carried out inefficiently in shallow coal deposits and with no regard for the environment.
Times, Sunday Times
Spitfire owns technology that can convert coal deposits to oil.
Times, Sunday Times
Then the vast coal deposits that were conjectured to exist under the ice could be easily mined and sold.
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While there are ample coal deposits, much of it has a high ash and sulfur content, so little except the low-sulfur type has been mined.
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Second, it had coal deposits, and coal mining in the parish took off in the late 18th century.
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At close range she smelled of fried fish and coal dust.
Burning Bright (2007)
Pluschow disguised himself as a grubby docker using coal dust and boot polish.
The Sun (2011)
Nonionic surfactant sprays performed well in coal dust capture in many of the tested conditions.
2017, 'Effects of Spray Surfactant and Particle Charge on Respirable Coal Dust Capture', Safety and Health at Work
Their baseline mitigation scenario was a phaseout of global coal emissions by 2050.
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Nevertheless, thanks in part to acid rain controls implemented in the 1980s and 1990s, coal emissions have been dropping.
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Hydroelectricity also avoids the hazards of coal mining and the indirect health effects of coal emissions.
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The video features hidden frames of coal emissions into the environment, dead animals and a cemetery of white crosses.
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The sites hold potential for underground coal gasification, a process that converts coal to gas in situ.
Times, Sunday Times
To get anywhere near that target, only two technologies fit the bill: nuclear, and coal gasification with carbon capture.
Times, Sunday Times
More recently, he had ingenious plans for coal gasification, using pressurised steam to blow flammable fuels out of carboniferous strata.
Times, Sunday Times
As well, some coal gasification technologies do not require high pressures.
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It was established in 1961 and has since then continuously operated in the field of underground coal gasification.
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In fact, coal output rose and the price fell for many decades.
Times, Sunday Times
By the time the country's 1,038 mines were nationalised in 1947, coal output had slumped to 200m tons a year.
Times, Sunday Times
The fossil fuel stood out as the star of yesterday's full-year production report, with total coal output, a record 95.2 million tonnes, up 11 per cent on the year.
Times, Sunday Times
The coal output reached its apogee at that time.
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Coal output grew from 5.2 million tons in 1975 to 6 million tons in 1978 and fell to 5.3 million tons in 1980.
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That compares with as long as six hours for a conventional gas or coal plant.
Times, Sunday Times
Shares in the coal plant operator dived by 25 per cent at one point before closing 14.8 per cent lower at 442p.
Times, Sunday Times
Advisers at the company later recommended instructing a coal plant to start up that evening, but managers decided not to in order to achieve the milestone.
Times, Sunday Times
A gas plant emits one-third of the carbon dioxide of an equivalent coal plant.
Globe and Mail
Living within 50 miles of a coal plant adds 0.03 mrem per year.
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The reason was clear to see - during the week factories belched out coal smoke.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The darkness was caused by coal smoke pollution trapped under a layer of warm air, but the smoke soon cleared with a change in the wind.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
More than 50 years ago, urban air was full of particles from coal smoke, which also caused lethal peasouper smogs.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In many ways this is reminiscent of the peasouper smog that used to choke our cities with foul coal smoke.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
A few guards huddle round a coal stove at the back of the stage, and that's about it.
Times, Sunday Times
The snug was a warm little place, as it had a squat coal stove that heated water for the bathroom.
Times, Sunday Times
There was always a pot of fresh coffee bubbling on her coal stove; everyone was welcome to help themselves.
Globe and Mail
They lived in a tent with a wooden floor and a coal stove.
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One of the fireplaces has a coal stove attached.
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The station's coal storage area would have stored a minimum 45 days worth of coal supply.
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From here he progressed to start his own coal supply firm.
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However, around this time the coal supply declined and highway access increased.
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In 1948/49 the boilers were modified to allow the burning of furnace oil owing to coal supply shortages.
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They were poorly armed and of low speed, and their meagre coal supply prevented their being used on blockade work or at any distance from a home port.
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Calumet was a typical patch town, another name for a coal town, built by a single company to house coal miners as cheaply as possible.
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Woodland started as a coal town sometime around the beginning of the 20th century.
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Structural adjustment measures have been implemented with the aim of transforming the city from being a coal town towards strengthening the tourist sector.
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As such, coal scrip could only be used at the specific locality or coal town of the company named.
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Villages grew into coal towns, with uniform streets of pinched miners' housing.
Times, Sunday Times
If so, take the coal train and use the profits of recovery to build civil defences against climate change.
Times, Sunday Times
It was at full speed (4045 mph) when it crashed into the coal train, which had not yet cleared the main line.
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The train collided with a stationary coal train that was using the same line.
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The lead locomotive on the coal train derails and fire engulfs the cab.
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Initially this was using an open wagon attached to a coal train, and then a locomotive hauled a coach every fortnight.
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A nearby coal truck had begun to lift off the ground by some unknown force and disappear into the atmosphere.
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It's the snarling turbines, the hiss of steam and clutter of coal trucks and tram tracks that bring out the inner geek in me.
Times, Sunday Times
Coal trucks were kept from entering the city, resulting in much less coal dust.
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The subterranean passages were used by coal trucks.
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There are many small coal mines in the mountains, with the coal trucked to the river then loaded onto barges for shipping downstream.
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As a reward he granted them perpetual mining rights in the forest, and their descendants still dig coal there today.
Times, Sunday Times
Draglines are not used to dig coal but only strip overburden.
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The building dates to the 17th century and during the 18th century was used as a hostelry by workers digging coal pits.
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Consider two companies that extract coal of identical quality.
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It pumps oil, digs up iron and extracts coal on five continents and has more than 120,000 staff.
Times, Sunday Times
A few miners are still extracting coal from the mines.
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However, a spokeswoman for the safety agency said that audio tapes prove that the miners were extracting coal that day, thus violating the ban.
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And after called compagnie des mines started to extract coals in 1833.
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I pitch 18 big pieces of wood onto the glowing coals.
Smithsonian
Combined the glowing coals of renewal burst into flame.
Christianity Today
I look forward to sitting in front of the swirling flames and throwing the odd log on to the glowing coals.
Times, Sunday Times
Smoke billowed from the grills, where fish and slices of steak were cooking over glowing coals.
Times, Sunday Times
Place the skewers on the barbecue over the glowing coals or on the smoking hot griddle.
Times, Sunday Times
My room was reasonably comfortable, though a purple carpet with a red-yellow motif made it look as though you were walking on hot coals.
Times, Sunday Times
Prawns wrapped in a thick tortilla, and grilled on hot coals, are apparently a family favourite.
Times, Sunday Times
Loose, comfy kaftans are good in semi-horizontal situations: just keep floaty sleeves away from any hot coals.
Times, Sunday Times
Rub the corn with oil and salt and cook on the hot griddle, or pan or over hot coals.
The Sun
Soak them in water and drop them on to your hot coals.
The Sun
Nearly a fifth of this, or about 240 million, was for electricity from highly polluting coal and diesel-fired generators.
Times, Sunday Times
This costs more than that from polluting coal and gas, but because we use less of it, our bills remain remarkably low.
Times, Sunday Times
Plus a ban on building most polluting coal stations.
Times, Sunday Times
Unlike plans to treble airport capacity and build more polluting coal plants.
Times, Sunday Times
Their demise was driven by environmental legislation, carbon pricing, which penalises polluting coal more than cleaner burning gas, and low gas prices.
Times, Sunday Times
The railways, the production of coal, steel, and iron, the entire distribution of commodities are in reality, if not in law, public services.
Times, Sunday Times
In 1990 the production of coal was around 500,000 tons per year.
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The company has a portfolio of mineral rights on which it earns royalties from the production of coal, potash and other minerals.
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By 1897, production of coal in the region had risen to over 70,000 tons.
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Largely self-taught, he studied botany, learned several foreign languages, constructed a velocipede or early bicycle, and experimented with the production of coal gas.
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To harvest all the existing reserves of coal, gas and oil?
Times,Sunday Times
There are significant reserves of coal, oil, gas, gold, iron ore, gemstones and rare earth metals, used in mobile phones.
Times, Sunday Times
In the mid 20th century were discovered large reserves of coal in the soil of the region.
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The reserves of coal in the basin total 193.6 million tonnes.
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The local area has reserves of coal and ironstone.
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They had to shovel coal and fight in the war.
The Sun
He finally shows his good side by helping shovel coal.
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With no money to pay for passage, they are forced to scrub the deck and shovel coal.
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The whole experience of shovelling coal and driving a steam train was incredible.
The Sun
It's still not exactly a tough job, it's not shovelling coal.
The Sun
The railway tracks once used to transport coal have become cycle paths.
Times, Sunday Times
The line was a state-owned enterprise, originally established in the late 19th century to transport coal and marine products, and closed in 1985.
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Old wagonways used to transport coal are also still present, although they are now maintained as footpaths.
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Aside from sightseeing passenger boats, the passageway was used to transport coal to power plants near the center of the peninsula.
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Tub boats are small boats used to transport coal and other minerals, sometimes working singly, sometimes in long trains.
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Translations:
Chinese: 煤
Japanese: 石炭