anthracite

American  

[an-thruh-sahyt] / ˈæn θrəˌsaɪt /

noun

1. a mineral coal containing little of the volatile hydrocarbons and burning almost without flame; hard coal.

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anthracite British  

/ ˈænθrəˌsaɪt, ˌænθrəˈsɪtɪk /

noun

1. Also called: hard coal.  a hard jet-black coal that burns slowly with a nonluminous flame giving out intense heat. Fixed carbon content: 86–98 per cent; calorific value: 3.14 × 10 ⁷ –3.63 × 10 ⁷ J/kg

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anthracite Scientific  

/ ăn′thrə-sīt′ /

1. A hard, shiny coal that has a high carbon content. It is valued as a fuel because it burns with a clean flame and without smoke or odor, but it is much less abundant than bituminous coal.

2. Compare bituminous coal lignite

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Other Word Forms

• anthracitic adjective
• anthracitous adjective

Etymology

Origin of anthracite

1810–15; probably < French < Latin (Pliny) anthracītis kind of coal. See anthrac-, -ite ¹

Compare meaning

How does anthracite compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• anthracite vs. bituminous coal

Example Sentences

According to ABC España, the site had been a major mine before its closure in 2018, and had since been intermittently used by private companies to extract the mineral anthracite.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2025

Abramovic, known for her work with crystals, chose anthracite from Ukrainian mines and rock quartz crystals from Brazil.

From Reuters • Oct. 6, 2021

On April 13, an anthracite gray Volkswagen van pulled into Les Poulières.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 4, 2021

With increasing heat and pressure, lignite turns to sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, and then, in a process like metamorphism, anthracite.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

The great irony of anthracite is that, tough as it is to light, once you get it lit it’s nearly impossible to put out.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson