variants
or less commonly charr
plural char or chars also charr or charrs
: any of a genus (Salvelinus) of small-scaled trouts with light-colored spots
charred; charring
2
: to burn slightly or partly : scorch
the fire charred the beams
: to become charred
plural chars
1
2
: a darkened crust produced on grilled food
Because gas grills generally produce less heat than charcoal grills, the steak requires a longer cooking time (and less frequent flipping) to develop a nice char.—
David Pazmiño
David PazmiñoSynonyms
Examples of char in a Sentence
Verb (1)
I'd like my hamburger charred, but not cooked through
Noun (3)
a busy executive who leaves most of the cooking and cleaning to the char
Recent Examples on the Web
Hannah Peart, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
The Mountain Fire in Southern California has charred over 14,000 acres of land in Ventura County, which is around 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles, according to CalFire.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 7 Nov. 2024
Kurt Kleiner, JSTOR Daily, 7 Nov. 2024
That banana and nut Jack Daniel’s character is still there, but there are notes of old leather, tobacco, dusty wood, barrel char, dark chocolate, and overripe stone fruit on the palate to liven things up.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for char 
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Verb
Earlier this year, three researchers were awarded a $700,000 prize for employing artificial intelligence to decipher a 2,000-year-old scroll that had been charred in the eruption.
—Hannah Peart, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
The Mountain Fire in Southern California has charred over 14,000 acres of land in Ventura County, which is around 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles, according to CalFire.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 7 Nov. 2024
Noun
That’s partly because a layer of char tends to form early on the outside of the timber, insulating the interior from much of the fire’s heat.
—Kurt Kleiner, JSTOR Daily, 7 Nov. 2024
That banana and nut Jack Daniel’s character is still there, but there are notes of old leather, tobacco, dusty wood, barrel char, dark chocolate, and overripe stone fruit on the palate to liven things up.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for char
Dictionary Entries Near char
Cite this Entry
“Char.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/char. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
char
1 of 3 noun
plural char or chars
: any of a genus of trouts that have small scales and include the common brook trout
char
3 of 3 noun
: charcoal
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