Metal Meaning

/ˈmɛ.təl/
A2

Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounChemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.

nounChemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from., Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms; generally shiny, somewhat malleable and hard, often a conductor of heat and electricity.

Metal contracts when cooled.
The acid burned the metal.
The heavy gate was constructed from solid metal bars.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The blacksmith heated the ____ until it was red and then hammered it into shape.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new bridge was constructed with high-strength ____ beams to ensure it could withstand the heavy traffic.

Etymology tree Ancient Greek μέτᾰλλον (métăllon)der. Latin metallum Old French metalbor. Middle English metal English metal From Middle English metal, a borrowing from Old French metal, from Latin metallum (“metal, mine, quarry, mineral”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon, “mine, quarry, metal”).

"Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated." — 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2019:
"Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere — an invisible bubble of magnetism generated by the powerful churning of molten metals at Earth’s core." — 2023 December 27, Mindy Weisberger, “Ancient bricks baked when Nebuchadnezzar II was king absorbed a power surge in Earth’s magnetic field”, in CNN:
"But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window[…]." — 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
"Most of the matter in stars is hydrogen and helium, and the metals (including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and so on) were cooked up inside stars." — 2003, Michael A. Seeds, Astronomy: The Solar System and Beyond, Thomson Brooks/Cole, →ISBN:
"Metals include oxygen and carbon which means that water and organic molecules would have been abundant in the early universe, perhaps paving the way for the emergence of life within a couple of billion years of the Big Bang." — 2015, Alan Longstaff, Astrobiology: An Introduction, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 350:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The blacksmith heated the ____ until it was red and then hammered it into shape.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new bridge was constructed with high-strength ____ beams to ensure it could withstand the heavy traffic.

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