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# metal

noun (metal, metals); adjective (metal)

«metal» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Metal is a hard, shiny material like iron, steel, gold, silver, copper or aluminium. Coins, nails and keys are made of metal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#m1)
2. Metal also means made of metal: a metal spoon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#m2)

### In the lessons

In maths: a material; things made of metal are counted or weighed; it can split things into groups to add or compare. In science: most metals conduct heat and electricity, and iron is attracted by a magnet (but not all metals are). Safety: metal pots and spoons get hot; never put metal in a microwave or into a socket. Phrases: made of metal, metal detector, heavy metal, scrap metal.

### Examples

- The box holds 20 metal spoons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x1)
- A metal bar weighs 3 kg. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x2)
- She sorted 15 metal and 9 plastic toys. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x3)
- Each metal coin is worth 5 cents. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x4)
- Gold and silver are precious metals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x5)
- A metal spoon in hot soup gets hot quickly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x6)
- A magnet picks up iron nails but not aluminium cans. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x7)
- We put metal cans in the recycling bin. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x8)
- Not a tinkling of a metal fringe broke the silence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/#x9)

### Note

Homophone: «medal» (a prize) sounds almost the same. Uncountable for the material (made of metal), countable for kinds (gold and silver are metals). Describes the material; no clue to the operation. It can split things into groups to add or compare. Myth: not all metals stick to magnets.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «metal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/metal/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«metal» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/metal.html) on Mova free.