metal

Less common meanings

4. 4
   bold attitudeadjective

   Showing the bold, brash, unyielding attitude associated with metal music.

   My grandmother went skydiving on her eightieth birthday, which is extremely metal.

   His blunt, fearless speech to the board was undeniably metal.

   UsagePlayful and often jokey. Takes degree words freely: pretty metal, extremely metal, the most metal.

   Similarhardcore, badass, defiant, fearless

   Note

   This sense is about attitude rather than sound: anything bold, brash or uncompromising can be metal, even a song title or a pair of bowling gloves. Lich King call one title "the most metal title of all," and Front magazine pairs the word with a vulgar intensifier. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Lich King describe a song title using the quoted superlative. en.wiktionary.org
   • Front magazine uses metal with a vulgar intensifier in describing bowling gloves. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   astronomynouncountable or uncountable

   In astronomy, any chemical element other than hydrogen and helium, whatever its origin.

   The earliest stars contained almost no metal, only hydrogen and helium.

   Each generation of stars enriches the galaxy with more metal.

   Note

   Astronomers use the word far more broadly than chemists do. Carbon, nitrogen and oxygen all count as metals, since astronomers lump together everything beyond hydrogen and helium, most of it forged inside stars. In this usage the word says nothing about shine or conductivity, and the related term metallicity belongs to the same vocabulary. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Astronomical metals include every element except hydrogen and helium, including carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. nasa.gov
   • Most elements beyond hydrogen and helium are formed inside stars. xrism.jaxa.jp
   • Metallicity is the related astronomical term for the abundance of these elements. en.wikipedia.org
6. 6
   road stonesnoununcountable

   Crushed rock, stone, or similar material used in making or surfacing a road.

   The council ordered more metal to resurface the country lane.

   Crushed metal was rolled flat to form a solid roadbed.

   UsageUsed as a mass of material: spread fresh metal, a layer of metal.

   Similargravel, aggregate, macadam, ballast

   Note

   Cyril Falls's History of the 36th (Ulster) Division (1922) speaks of "the metalling of the roads" and of "dumping of metal beside them" in a single sentence. It has nothing to do with iron, because the material is broken stone. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Cyril Falls wrote The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division, first published in 1922. gutenberg.org
   • The first-edition title page gives 1922 as the publication year. gutenberg.org
   • Both quoted phrases occur verbatim in a single sentence of Falls's narrative. gutenberg.org
7. 7
   surface roadsverbtransitive

   To surface or build a road using crushed rock, stone, or similar material.

   The county plans to metal several rural roads this year.

   Workers metaled the old track to keep it from turning to mud.

   UsageAmerican spelling usually has one l (metaled, metaling); British doubles it (metalled, metalling).

   Similarsurface, gravel, pave

   Note

   The verb pairs with the road-building noun: to metal a road is to lay that crushed stone on it, so the surface holds firm instead of turning to mud. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Road metal consists of broken stone laid on roads. teara.govt.nz
   • Metalling strengthens and protects the road surface. docs.nzfoa.org.nz
8. 8
   nounarchaicfigurativelyuncountable

   The basic substance something is made of; figuratively, a person's essential 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, William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”

   UsageFor courage or character today, the word is mettle: test your mettle (not incorrect: metal).

   Similarmettle

   Note

   This archaic figurative use is why English also has the word mettle. In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice refuses a husband "till God make men of some other mettall then earth," and there substance and character are one idea. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Mettle developed from the figurative use of metal. en.wiktionary.org
   • William Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing. gutenberg.org
   • Beatrice speaks the quoted words while rejecting the prospect of a husband; the original spelling is accurate. gutenberg.org
   • The passage illustrates metal connecting a person's substance with character or temper. en.wiktionary.org
9. 9
   train railsnounUKplural

   The rails of a railway, taken together as the running surface for trains.

   Signalmen kept the metals clear for the night express.

   Track workers walked the metals each morning, checking for loose bolts.

   UsageUsed with the: walked the metals, sped along the metals.

   Similartrack, line, rails

   Note

   The word names the track by its material, much as the road-builder's metal names a road surface by its stone. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Calling railway rails metals identifies them by their material. en.wikipedia.org
   • Road-builder's metal refers to stone used to make the road surface. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    nounobsoletecountable

    A mine from which ores are extracted.

    Note

    Long obsolete, this was the closest English came to the Latin meaning "mine." Jeremy Taylor's Ductor Dubitantium (1660) mentions "slaves … and persons condemned to metals," which means people sentenced to labor in the mines. In this context, read the plural as "mines."

11. 11
    nounobsolete

    The ore from which a usable metal is extracted.
12. 12
    noun

    A light tincture used in heraldry, namely argent (silver or white) and or (gold).
13. 13
    noun

    Molten glass that is ready to be blown or molded into objects.
14. 14
    nouncolloquial

    The airline that actually operates a flight, rather than any codeshare partners marketing seats on it.
15. 15
    noun

    The combined firepower or caliber of the guns mounted on a warship.