Coal or cole?
coal is a noun meaning “A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed…”; cole is a noun meaning “Cabbage”. They sound the same (/kəʊl/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) coal is about 2.0 times as common as cole.
What is the difference between coal and cole?
| coal | cole | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, adjective | noun, suffix |
| Meaning | A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel A type of coal, such as bituminous, anthracite, or lignite, and grades and varieties thereof, as a fuel commodity ready to buy and burn To take on a supply of coal (usually of steam ships or locomotives) | Cabbage Brassica; a plant of the Brassica genus, especially those of Brassica oleracea (rape and coleseed) ScotlandA stack or stook of hay |
| Example | The coal in this region was prized by ironmasters in centuries past, who mined it in the spots where the drainage methods of the day… | none recorded |
| Forms | coals | coles |
| Pronunciation | /kəʊl/ [kʰɒʊɫ] /kɒl/ | /kəʊl/ /kɔʊl/ /kɒl/ |
| In writing | 31 times per million words | 15 times per million words |
Sources: coal and cole in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of coal and cole
coal
- 1
A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel
The coal in this region was prized by ironmasters in centuries past, who mined it in the spots where the drainage methods of the day permitted
- 2
To take on a supply of coal (usually of steam ships or locomotives)
- 3
Black like coal; coal-black
- 4
Abbreviation of coalition
- 5
A type of coal, such as bituminous, anthracite, or lignite, and grades and varieties thereof, as a fuel commodity ready to buy and burn
Put some coal on the fire
- 6
To supply with coal
to coal a steamer
- 7
A piece of coal used for burning (this use is less common in American English)
Put some coals on the fire
- 8
To be converted to charcoal
cole
- 1
Cabbage
- 2
ScotlandA stack or stook of hay
- 3
Forms nouns (and occasionally adjectives) relating to organisms that inhabit a particular habitat
- 4
Brassica; a plant of the Brassica genus, especially those of Brassica oleracea (rape and coleseed)
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, coal or cole?
coal appears 31 times per million words; cole 15 times per million words.
coal 31 times per million wordscole 15 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).