silver

Pluralsilvers (some meanings)

Formssilvers, silvering, silvered

1. 1
   metalnoununcountable

   A lustrous white metallic element, atomic number 47, with the chemical symbol Ag.

   Because pure silver bends and scratches easily, jewelers usually blend it with a little copper.

   Traditional photographic film relies on light-sensitive compounds of silver to record an image.

   UsageUsed without a: some silver, made of silver. A silver usually means a medal.

2. 2
   metallic coloradjective

   Of a shiny gray color, like the metal of the same name.

   Dawn gave the rooftops a silver shine after the frost.

   Her hair had gone silver, but her eyes stayed bright.

   UsageHair goes silver or turns silver.

   Similargray

3. 3
   second placenouncountable

   A medal awarded for finishing second in a contest or competition.

   The sprinter took silver after a dramatic photo finish.

   Their team earned a silver in the relay event.

   UsageWin or take silver, often with no a, or win a silver.

4. 4
   made of the metaladjective

   Made of silver, or of a white metal that looks like silver.

   The museum displayed a silver goblet from the seventeenth century.

   He wore a silver ring engraved with his initials.

5. 5
   noununcountable

   A shiny gray-white color like that of the metal, or something that shines with this color.

   The dress shimmered in a pale silver under the stage lights.

   He chose silver for the walls to brighten the small room.

6. 6
   second tieradjective

   Of premium standing, yet ranked a grade below the higher gold level.

   Hotel guests with silver status get late checkout, while gold members also get free breakfast.

   He upgraded to a silver plan, just short of the premium gold option.

   Note

   Commercial services often use it as a tier name, ranking it above the basic level and below gold. This follows the order of the medal podium, so silver usually implies a gold above it. That makes it a label for plans, memberships and loyalty programs rather than a word of praise. Calling a service "silver" usually tells customers there is a higher tier on offer. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Silver can itself name the basic tier: Shore Summer Rentals explicitly describes its Silver listings as basic and bottom-ranked. shoresummerrentals.com
   • Some commercial schemes have Silver without Gold. Travorium's three membership tiers are Silver, Titanium and Platinum. travorium.com
   • A higher nominal tier is not necessarily better for the customer. Subsidized Silver insurance plans can provide greater financial protection than Gold or Platinum plans. cms.gov
7. 7
   nouncollectivecountable or uncountable

   Money in the form of coins struck from silver or a comparable white metal.

   The merchant counted out the silver before handing over the goods.

   She kept a small pouch of silver for the long journey.

   UsageCounted as a mass: a handful of silver, paid in silver.

   Similarcoins

   Note

   Because the word covers any white-metal coin, it outlived coins that actually contained silver. David F. Friedman's A Youth in Babylon (1990) tallies twenties, tens and fins, then ends with "all aces and silver." That means the singles and the loose coins at the bottom of the pile. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • David F. Friedman wrote A Youth in Babylon, with Don DeNevi. simonandschuster.com
   • The passage lists twenties, tens and fins before ending with the exact words “all aces and silver.” en.wiktionary.org
   • “Aces” means one-dollar bills in this passage. en.wiktionary.org
   • The coin sense of “silver” continued after silver was replaced in ordinary circulating coinage. royalmint.com
8. 8
   25th anniversaryadjective

   Celebrating or relating to the completion of twenty-five years, especially of marriage.

   The couple marked their silver anniversary with a trip to Italy.

   Friends gathered to toast the pair on their silver wedding.

   UsageGoes before the noun: silver wedding, silver anniversary.

   Note

   Twenty-five years marks one rung on a traditional ladder of anniversary names, where the fiftieth is golden and the sixtieth diamond. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Traditional wedding-anniversary names associate twenty-five years with silver, fifty with gold, and sixty with diamond. en.wikipedia.org
9. 9
   coat with metalverbtransitive

   To coat the surface of an object with silver or another silvery metal.

   Manufacturers silver the rear of glass sheets to produce mirrors.

   The jeweler silvered the copper frame before setting the stones.

   Similarplate

   Note

   A craftsman's verb, and the one behind mirrors. To silver a glass plate is to back it with reflective metal, traditionally an amalgam of tin and mercury rather than silver itself. Like the "made of silver" adjective, it does not insist on the real thing. Its past participle often works as an adjective, as in silvered glass or a silvered frame. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Silvering glass makes a mirror by applying reflective metal, which need not be silver. en.wikipedia.org
   • Tin–mercury amalgam was traditionally used as the reflective coating on glass mirrors. winterthur.org

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