metal

A2 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈmɛ.təl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

mettle /ˈmɛtəl/

noun adj Freq #2220

Meanings

1

noun
A hard, usually shiny material such as iron, gold, or copper that conducts heat and electricity.

The bridge is made of steel and other strong metals.
2

adj
Made of or containing metal.

She drank from a metal cup.
3

noun
A loud, heavy style of rock music with strong drums and distorted guitars.

He loves going to metal concerts.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a hard, usually shiny... metallic element

2 adj · made of or containing metal. metallic

Opposites

nonmetal

Word family

Forms metalliferousmetallingmetals

Derived forms alkylmetalallylmetalalt-metalarylmetalavant-metalbiometalbush-metalcermetcyclometalatedimetaleuro-metalferrometal

Related forms metalling

Common collocations

metal handle Adjective + noun

Etymology

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”).

metal Middle English metallum Latin μέταλλον Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

# metal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈmɛ.təl
**Frequency rank:** 2220

## Meanings
1. A hard, usually shiny material such as iron, gold, or copper that conducts heat and electricity.
2. Made of or containing metal.
3. A loud, heavy style of rock music with strong drums and distorted guitars.

## Examples
- The bridge is made of steel and other strong metals.
- She drank from a metal cup.
- He loves going to metal concerts.

## Antonyms
- nonmetal

## Derived Forms
- alkylmetal
- allylmetal
- alt-metal
- arylmetal
- avant-metal
- biometal
- bush-metal
- cermet
- cyclometalate
- dimetal
- euro-metal
- ferrometal

## Related Forms
- metalling

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: metal
- Root: metallum
- Root: μέταλλον

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
Metal comes 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”). In present-day English its meanings include a hard, usually shiny material such as iron, gold, or copper that conducts heat and electricity, made of or containing metal, and a loud, heavy style of rock music with strong drums and distorted guitars. The historical chain runs through metal (Middle English), metal (Old French), metallum (Latin), and μέταλλον (Ancient Greek). Related and derived forms include metalling, alkylmetal, allylmetal, and alt-metal.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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metal

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