metal

Syllables: met·al/ˈmɛ.təl/

metal noun: 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.

Image: CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

metal (countable and uncountable, plural metals)

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.
- 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
Any material with similar physical properties as those chemical elements, especially as a combination of several of them, such as an alloy.
- 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...1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
An element which was not directly created after the Big Bang but instead formed through nuclear reactions; any element other than hydrogen and helium.
- 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
- Thus, for the remaining elements, including oxygen, the solid phase appears to be important. In fact, at a metallicity of Z=0.02, and with a gas-to-dust ratio of 100, about half of the metals — including oxygen — are contained in the solid phase.2008, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Geochemical Society, Oxygen in the solar system, Mineralogical Society of Amer →ISBN
Crushed rock, stones etc. used to make a road.
- One of the most important tasks was the metalling of the roads, and the dumping of metal beside them in parts where it was impossible to lay it, in order that work might commence with the assault. The surface of the roads was good, but only because the Division had been holding a front so wide...1922, Falls Cyril, The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division, M'Caw, Stevenson and Orr, Ltd
The ore from which a metal is derived.
(obsolete) A mine from which ores are taken.
- slaves […] and persons condemned to metals1660, Jeremy Taylor, Ductor Dubitantium, or the Rule of Conscience in All Her General Measures; […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] James Flesher, for Richard Royston […], →OCLC
A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent (white or silver) and or (gold).
Molten glass that is to be blown or moulded to form objects.
A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, etc.) characterized by strong drumbeats and distorted guitars.
- While the motive is still under investigation, authorities said that Matthews’ interest in black metal music may have influenced his behavior.2019 April 11, Harmeet Kaur, “Authorities say black metal may have influenced the Louisiana church fires suspect. Here’s what to know.”, in CNN
Synonyms:

heavy metal
(archaic, figuratively) The substance that constitutes something or someone; matter; hence, character or temper.
- Leonato. Well, neece, I hope to ſee you one day fitted with a husband. / Beatrice. Not till God make men of ſome other mettall then earth, would it not grieue a woman to be over-maſtred with a peece of valiant duſt?1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Th' Ambitious Youth, too Covetous of Fame, / Too full of Angells Metal in his Frame, / Unvvarily vvas led from Vertues vvays, / Made Drunk vvith Honour, and Debauch'd vvith Praiſe.1681, [John Dryden], Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem, London: […] J[acob] T[onson] and are to be sold by W. Davis […], →OCLC, page 10
Synonyms:

mettle
The effective power or calibre of guns carried by a vessel of war.
(UK, in plural) The rails of a railway.
(informal) The actual airline operating a flight, rather than any of the codeshare operators.
- We have American Airlines tickets, but it's on British Airways metal.

Adjective

metal (comparative more metal, superlative most metal)

Characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars.
Having the emotional or social characteristics associated with metal music; brash, bold, frank, unyielding, etc.
- The beast will destroy everything in his path
  With this song on the upcoming brawl
  It sure is a long one and tough to pronounce but
  It's the most metal title of all2008, Lich King, “Attack of the Wrath of the War of the Death of the Strike of the Sword of the Blood of the Beast”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught
- Top tip: Bowling gloves are for sissies, although they look metal as fuck.2012 August, “Tested Bowling Balls”, in Front, number 171, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40

Verb

metal (third-person singular simple present metals, present participle (US) metaling or (UK) metalling, simple past and past participle (US) metaled or (UK) metalled)

To make a road using crushed rock, stones etc.

metal meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

metal in Hindi

atomic element or material made of such atoms: धातु dhātu, धात dhāt

metal in Tamil

atomic element or material made of such atoms: உலோகம் ulōkam
certain category of rock music: மாழை māḻai

metal in Marathi

atomic element or material made of such atoms: धातू dhātū
certain category of rock music: मेटल meṭal

metal in Urdu

atomic element or material made of such atoms: دھات dhāt

More languagesFewer languages

metal in Bengali: ধাতু dhatu, মেটাল meṭal
metal in Telugu: లోహము lōhamu
metal in Malayalam: ലോഹം lōhaṁ, മെറ്റൽ meṟṟal
metal in Kannada: ಮೆಟಲ್ meṭal
metal in Punjabi: ਮੈਟਲ maiṭal
metal in Gujarati: ધાતુ dhātu, મેટલ meṭal
metal in Odia: ଧାତୁ, ଧାତବ, ଧାତୁକୁ
metal in Sanskrit: धातु dhātu, अयस् ayas, लोह loha
metal in Assamese: ধাতু dhatu
metal in Nepali: धातु dhātu
metal in Pashto: فلز felez, زر zar
metal in Tagalog: bakal, metal, kansa
metal in Arabic: فِلِزّ filizz, مَعْدِن maʕdin, معدن maʕdin, مِيتَال metal
metal in Malay: logam
metal in Indonesian: logam
metal in Persian: فِلِز filiz, مِتال metâl
metal in Thai: โลหะ loo-hà, เมทัล mee-tal
metal in Vietnamese: kim loại
metal in Myanmar: သတ္တု sattu., မက်တယ်လ် maktail

Examples of metal in a sentence

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.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
One of the most important tasks was the metalling of the roads, and the dumping of metal beside them in parts where it was impossible to lay it, in order that work might commence with the assault.1922, Falls Cyril, The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division, M'Caw, Stevenson and Orr, Ltd:

All 40 example sentences with metal

Synonyms of metal

Antonyms

nonmetal

Forms of metal

Noun
plural	metals
Adjective
comparative	more metal
superlative	most metal
Verb
third-person singular present	metals
present participle US	metaling
present participle UK	metalling
past participle US	metaled
past US	metaled
past participle UK	metalled
past UK	metalled

Plural of metal: metals

Origin of 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”).

Phrases with metal

88 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with metal

Questions about metal

What does metal mean?: Metal means 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.
What is metal in Hindi?: Metal in Hindi is धातु (dhātu), धात (dhāt). See Metal meaning in Hindi.
How do you use metal in a sentence?: 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.
What part of speech is metal?: Metal can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce metal?: Metal is pronounced /ˈmɛ.təl/.
What is the plural of metal?: The plural of metal is metals.

Words near metal in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: metal (page history and authors); metal (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-metal.ogg, en-uk-metal.ogg.

Cite this entry: “metal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/metal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.