steel

[steel] /stil/
noun
1.
any of various modified forms of iron, artificially produced, having a carbon content less than that of pig iron and more than that of wrought iron, and having qualities of hardness, elasticity, and strength varying according to composition and heat treatment: generally categorized as having a high, medium, or low-carbon content.
2.
a thing or things made of this metal.
3.
a flat strip of this metal used for stiffening, especially in corsets; stay.
4.
a bar of this metal that has one end formed to hold a bit for driving through rock.
5.
steels, stocks or bonds of companies producing this metal.
6.
a sword.
7.
a rounded rod of ridged steel, fitted with a handle and used especially for sharpening knives.
adjective
8.
pertaining to or made of steel.
9.
like steel in color, hardness, or strength.
verb (used with object)
10.
to fit with steel, as by pointing, edging, or overlaying.
11.
to cause to resemble steel in some way.
12.
to render insensible, inflexible, unyielding, determined, etc.:
He steeled himself to perform the dangerous task.
Origin
before 900; (noun) Middle English stele, Old English (north) stēle; cognate with Dutch staal, German Stahl, Old Norse stāl; (v.) Middle English stelen, Old English styled edged with steel, derivative of the noun
Related forms
steellike, adjective
presteel, noun, adjective
Can be confused
steal, steel, stele.
Examples from the web for steel
  • steel prices are scheduled to increase next month in response to higher costs for metals used in making steel.
  • His gadgets are beautiful-sleek and elegant, compact, and made of post-industrial materials that make steel look old-fashioned.
  • Over-protected by fussy governments, steel makers have been left behind in the globalisation of business.
  • steel is not naturally-occurring and must be created.
  • steel cables stretched over the giant pylons provided support until the arch was completed.
  • He designed a set of steel fittings, which were welded to each corner of a container.
  • The tower is held together by steel cables and screws.
  • On solid ground, the wings would swing into clamshell compartments, protected by a steel keel.
  • We follow a knot of workmen up the hill to rectangular pits shaded by a corrugated steel roof-the main excavation site.
  • Snippets of spider genes let mutant silkworms spin silk stronger than steel.
British Dictionary definitions for steel

steel

/stiːl/
noun
1.
  1. any of various alloys based on iron containing carbon (usually 0.1–1.7 per cent) and often small quantities of other elements such as phosphorus, sulphur, manganese, chromium, and nickel. Steels exhibit a variety of properties, such as strength, machinability, malleability, etc, depending on their composition and the way they have been treated
  2. (as modifier): steel girders See also stainless steel
2.
something that is made of steel
3.
a steel stiffener in a corset, etc
4.
a ridged steel rod with a handle used for sharpening knives
5.
the quality of hardness, esp with regard to a person's character or attitudes
6.
(stock exchange) the quotation for steel shares See also steels
7.
(modifier) resembling steel: steel determination
verb (transitive)
8.
to fit, plate, edge, or point with steel
9.
to make hard and unfeeling: he steeled his heart against her sorrow, he steeled himself for the blow
Derived Forms
steely, adjective
steeliness, noun
Word Origin
Old English stēli; related to Old High German stehli, Middle Dutch stael

Steel

/stiːl/
noun
1.
Danielle, full name Danielle Fernande Schüelein-Steel. born 1950, US writer of romantic fiction
2.
Baron David (Martin Scott). born 1938, British politician; leader of the Liberal Party (1976–88); Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament (1999–2003)
Word Origin and History for steel
n.

Old English style, from West Germanic adjective *stakhlijan "made of steel" (cf. Old Saxon stehli, Old Norse, Middle Low German stal, Danish staal, Swedish stål, Middle Dutch stael, Dutch staal, Old High German stahal, German Stahl), related to *stakhla "standing fast," from PIE *stek-lo-, from root *stak- "to stand, place, be firm" (see stay (n.1)). No corresponding word exists outside Germanic except those likely borrowed from Germanic languages. Steel wool is attested from 1896.

v.

"make hard or strong like steel," 1580s, figurative, from steel (n.). Related: Steeled; steeling.

steel in Science
steel
  (stēl)   
Any of various hard, strong, flexible alloys of iron and carbon. Often, other metals are added to give steel a particular property, such as chromium and nickel to make it stainless. Steel is widely used in many kinds of tools and as a structural material in building.
steel in the Bible

The "bow of steel" in (A.V.) 2 Sam. 22:35; Job 20:24; Ps. 18:34 is in the Revised Version "bow of brass" (Heb. kesheth-nehushah). In Jer. 15:12 the same word is used, and is also rendered in the Revised Version "brass." But more correctly it is copper (q.v.), as brass in the ordinary sense of the word (an alloy of copper and zinc) was not known to the ancients.

Idioms and Phrases with steel

steel

In addition to the idiom beginning with steel also see: mind like a steel trap