base metal
any metal other than a precious or noble metal, as copper, lead, zinc, or tin.: Compare noble metal, precious metal.
the principal metal of an alloy.
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.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 440 | VariousA pair of scales for weighing ore and buttons of base metal.
The A B C of Mining | Charles A. Bramblebase 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 CooperThe 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
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
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