charcoals

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of charcoal.

   She sorted her drawing charcoals by hardness before the class began.

   Different charcoals burn at different temperatures, so grillers choose carefully.

   Note

   A plural that counts what the material becomes, not the material itself. Charcoal as fuel is mostly a mass noun, so charcoals usually means the sticks in an artist's box or finished drawings on a wall (an exhibition of charcoals). It is used less often for different kinds of fuel compared side by side. The color sense stays uncountable and does not take this plural.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of charcoal.

   The teacher charcoals the outline on the canvas for her students to follow.

   Whenever she plans a mural, she charcoals the design onto the wall first.

   Note

   The spelling is shared with the plural noun, but here charcoal works as a verb. It can mean drawing with charcoal (she charcoals a sketch) or cooking over it (he charcoals the steaks), so the object usually shows which is meant. This -s form follows he, she, it or a singular noun. Every other present-tense subject takes plain charcoal.

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