carbonise

Everyday

1. To turn something into carbon or charcoal by heating it strongly, usually without much air. tree →
2. (science) To change dead plants slowly into coal or into a black carbon layer over a very long time. tree →
3. (cooking, joking) To burn food so badly that it goes black and hard. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons it comes up with coal, charcoal and fossils: plants carbonise when heat and pressure act on them for millions of years. In the kitchen it is a joking way to say toast or sausages are burnt to a crisp. It tells the reader that something has turned black and hard because of heat. Often in «carbonised remains», «carbonised wood», «carbonised seeds».

Examples

• Charcoal is made by carbonising wood in a kiln with little air. tree →
• Over millions of years the buried ferns were carbonised into coal. tree →
• Dad left the toast in too long and carbonised it. tree →
• Archaeologists found carbonised grain in the old Roman oven. tree →
• If you heat sugar too long, it starts to carbonise and smell bitter. tree →
• The fossil leaf was a thin carbonised film on the rock. tree →
• Don't carbonise the marshmallows, just toast them golden. tree →

Note

Regular verb: carbonised, carbonising. UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland often spell it with -ise; the USA and Canada use carbonize. Do not confuse with «carbonate» (to add fizzy carbon dioxide gas to a drink) — carbonated lemonade is fizzy, not burnt.