base metal

See synonyms for base metal on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any metal other than a precious or noble metal, as copper, lead, zinc, or tin.: Compare noble metal, precious metal.

  2. the principal metal of an alloy.

  1. the principal metal of a piece underlying a coating of another metal; core.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use base metal in a sentence

  • He 'sophisticated' it, as the parliamentary documents call it—that is, he used base metal instead of bullion.

  • A pair of scales for weighing ore and buttons of base metal.

    The A B C of Mining | Charles A. Bramble
  • base metal though it were, it seemed pure gold to his listeners.

    The Red Mouse | William Hamilton Osborne
  • "But all these watches are of base metal, and I want one of good gold and handsome finish," observed my grandmother.

    The Chainbearer | J. Fenimore Cooper
  • The gold in their nature is now so mixed with base metal that in any great trial the coin would sooner break than bend.

    Chaucer for Children | Mrs. H. R. Haweis

British Dictionary definitions for base metal

base metal

noun
  1. any of certain common metals such as copper, lead, zinc, and tin, as distinct from the precious metals, gold, silver, and platinum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012