brown coal

noun

: lignite

Examples of brown coal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Hazelwood was erected to burn brown coal from an adjacent open-pit mine. — Stephen Pyne, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024 The five chunks of brown coal, each no bigger than a matchbox, add further evidence of the port’s antiquity. — J. Besl, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024 For its part, the German power provider has defended the eviction of the protesters and the mining of the brown coal. — Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2023 Friis initially specialized in lignite, or brown coal, a precursor of black coal that forms from decaying vegetation. — Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2023 See All Example Sentences for brown coal

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of brown coal was in 1805

Rhymes for brown coal

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Browse Nearby Words

brown citrus aphid
brown coal
brown coat
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Cite this Entry

“Brown coal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brown%20coal. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

brown coal

noun
: lignite

More from Merriam-Webster on brown coal

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about brown coal

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