Definition of "metal"

(heading) Chemical elements or alloys, and the mines where their ores come from.

1. Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that form a metallic bond with other metal atoms; generally shiny, somewhat malleable and hard, often a conductor of heat and electricity.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated.

     2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884

2. Any material with similar physical properties, such as an alloy.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window […].

     1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […]

3. (astronomy) An element which was not directly created after the Big Bang but instead formed through nuclear reactions; any element other than hydrogen and helium.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Most of the matter in stars is hydrogen and helium, and the metals (including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and so on) were cooked up inside stars.

     2003, Michael A. Seeds, Astronomy: The Solar System and Beyond, Thomson Brooks/Cole

   • Thus, for the remaining elements, including oxygen, the solid phase appears to be important. In fact, at a metallicity of Z=0.02, and with a gas-to-dust ratio of 100, about half of the metals — including oxygen — are contained in the solid phase.

     2008, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Geochemical Society, Oxygen in the solar system, Mineralogical Society of Amer

   • Metals include oxygen and carbon which means that water and organic molecules would have been abundant in the early universe, perhaps paving the way for the emergence of life within a couple of billion years of the Big Bang.

     2015, Alan Longstaff, Astrobiology: An Introduction, CRC Press, page 350

4. Crushed rock, stones etc. used to make a road.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • One of the most important tasks was the metalling of the roads, and the dumping of metal beside them in parts where it was impossible to lay it, in order that work might commence with the assault. The surface of the roads was good, but only because the Division had been holding a front so wide, which made the traffic upon them relatively light.

     1922, Falls Cyril, The History of the 36th (Ulster) Division‎, M'Caw, Stevenson and Orr, Ltd

5. (mining) The ore from which a metal is derived.  examples

6. (obsolete) A mine from which ores are taken.  quotations

   Quotations

   • slaves […] and persons condemned to metals

     1660, Jeremy Taylor, Ductor Dubitantium, or the Rule of Conscience in All Her General Measures; […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] James Flesher, for Richard Royston […]

(heraldry) A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent (white or silver) and or (gold).  examples

Molten glass that is to be blown or moulded to form objects.  examples

(music) A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, etc.) characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars.  examples

(figurative, archaic) The substance that constitutes something or someone; matter; hence, character or temper.  quotations

The effective power or calibre of guns carried by a vessel of war.  examples

(UK, in the plural) The rails of a railway.  examples

(informal, travel, aviation) The actual airline operating a flight, rather than any of the codeshare operators.  examples

(music) Characterized by strong drum-beats and distorted guitars.  examples

Having the emotional or social characteristics associated with metal music; brash, bold, frank, unyielding, etc.  quotations  examples

To make a road using crushed rock, stones etc.  examples