coal cellar

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableBritish

   a small room, usually below ground level, where coal was stored for heating a house.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a coal cellar' or 'two coal cellars'.

   Patterns

   • a coal cellar under something
   • in the coal cellar

   The old house still has a coal cellar under the front steps.

   They turned the coal cellar into a small wine store.

   He went down to the coal cellar to fetch a bucket of coal.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   a dark, damp, or unpleasant room or space, especially one below ground.

   Grammar: Used figuratively; often with 'like' to make a comparison.

   Patterns

   • like a coal cellar
   • a coal cellar of a room

   The basement flat was like a coal cellar — cold and windowless.

   Her office felt like a coal cellar in winter.

Word forms

Common combinations

a coal cellar under the house

There is a coal cellar under the house, reached by a metal door in the yard.

convert a coal cellar

They converted the coal cellar into a laundry room.

the coal cellar door

The coal cellar door was painted green and set into the pavement.

go down to the coal cellar

In those days, a child might go down to the coal cellar to fill the scuttle.

Synonyms and how they differ

coal room

A more general term for any room used for storing coal, not necessarily below ground.

coal bin

This usually means a container for coal rather than a whole room.

cellar

A general word for an underground room; a coal cellar is one used specifically for coal.

Word family

coal noun

A hard black substance burned as fuel.

cellar noun

A room below ground level, often used for storage.

Commonly confused: coal cellar or coal miner?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “coal cellar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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