char

UK: /ˈtʃɑː^r/ US: /tʃɑr/ ,(chär)

Inflections of 'char' (n):

chars

npl (All usages. For the fish, mainly used to talk about different types—e.g. "The Arctic char and the lake char are both chars.")

char

npl (For the fish only—e.g. "The waters are teeming with char.")

Inflections of 'char' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

chars

v 3rd person singular

charring

v pres p

charred

v past

charred

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

char¹ /tʃɑr/   v., charred, char•ring. 

1. to burn or (cause to) become reduced to charcoal: [~ + object]
   The flames had charred the corpses beyond recognition.
   [no object]
   The corpses charred in the fire.
2. [~ + object] to burn slightly;
   scorch:
   The flame charred the steak.

char³ /tʃɑr/   n., v., charred, char•ring. Chiefly Brit.
n. [countable]

1. British Terms charwoman.

v. [no object]

2. British Terms to work at cleaning offices or houses.

char.,  an abbreviation of:

1. character.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

char¹  (chär), v., charred, char•ring, n. 
v.t. 

1. Chemistry to burn or reduce to charcoal:
   The fire charred the paper.
2. Chemistry to burn slightly;
   scorch:
   The flame charred the steak.

v.i. 
3. to become charred.

n. 
4. Chemistry a charred material or surface.
5. Chemistry charcoal.
6. Energy, Chemistry a superior carbon-rich fuel, a by-product of the conversion of coal into gaseous or liquid fuel.
• 1670–80; apparently extracted from charcoal; see chark
Synonyms
• 2. singe, sear.

char²  (chär), n., pl. ([esp. collectively] ) char, ([esp. referring to two or more kinds or species] ) chars. 

1. Fish any trout of the genus Salvelinus (or Cristovomer), esp. the Arctic char.

• 1655–65; perh. Old English *ceorra literally, turner, derivative of ceorran to turn, it being thought of as swimming to and fro time and again; see char³

char³  (chär), n., v., charred, char•ring. [Chiefly Brit.]
n. 

1. British Terms a charwoman.
2. British Terms a task, esp. a household chore.
3. British Terms chars, odd jobs, esp. of housework, for which one is paid by the hour or day.

v.i. 
4. British Terms to work at housecleaning by the day or hour;
   hire oneself out to do odd jobs.

v.t. 
5. British Terms to do (housework, odd jobs, or chores);
   clean or repair.
Also, chare. 
• late Middle English, Old English cerr, cierr turn, time, occasion, affair, derivative of cierran to turn 1375–1425

char⁴  (chär), n. [Brit. Informal.]

1. British Terms tea.

• Hindi cā tea; for spelling, spelled with r compare arvo, parcheesi
• 1915–20

Char  (shar), n. 

Re•né  (rə nā′), born 1907, French poet.

char., 

1. character.
2. charter.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

char / tʃɑː/ verb (chars, charring, charred)

1. to burn or be burned partially, esp so as to blacken the surface; scorch
2. (transitive) to reduce (wood) to charcoal by partial combustion

Etymology: 17th Century: short for charcoal

char, charr / tʃɑː/ noun (char, chars, charr, charrs)

1. any of various troutlike fishes of the genus Salvelinus, esp S. alpinus, occurring in cold lakes and northern seas: family Salmonidae (salmon)

Etymology: 17th Century: of unknown origin

char / tʃɑː/ noun

1. short for charwoman

verb (chars, charring, charred)

1. to do housework, cleaning, etc, as a job

Etymology: 18th Century: from Old English cerr

char / tʃɑː/ noun

1. 
   a slang word for tea

Etymology: from Chinese ch'a