Steel

//stiːl// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An artificial metal produced from iron, harder and more elastic than elemental iron; used figuratively as a symbol of hardness. countable, uncountable

    "Ocearium stæli."

  2. 2
    knife sharpener consisting of a ridged steel rod wordnet
  3. 3
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; Bladed or pointed weapons, as swords, javelins, daggers. countable, uncountable

    "For heom ne may halter ne bridel Bringe from here wode wyse, Ne mon mid stele ne mid ire."

  4. 4
    a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard wordnet
  5. 5
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; A piece used for striking sparks from flint. countable, uncountable

    "Of ston mid stel in ðe tunder wel to brennen one ðis wunder."

Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range wordnet
  2. 7
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; Armor. countable, uncountable

    "Þai gun hem boþe armi In iren and stiel þat tide."

  3. 8
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; A honing steel, a tool used to sharpen or hone metal blades. countable, uncountable

    "The steill to scherp the schawing jrne."

  4. 9
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; Pieces used to strengthen, support, or expand an item of clothing. countable, uncountable

    "I haue a ruffe is a quarter deep, measured by the yeard... You haue a pretty set too, how big is the steele you set with?"

  5. 10
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; A flat iron. countable, dialectal, uncountable

    "One of them having occasion to use a Steele, smoothing Iron, or some such kinde of Laundry Instrument."

  6. 11
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; A sewing needle; a knitting needle; a sharp metal stylus. countable, dialectal, uncountable

    "The threaded steel...Flies swiftly."

  7. 12
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; An engraving plate. countable, uncountable

    "A re-issue of the Examples of the Architecture of Venice. By John Ruskin... With the Text, and the 16 Plates (10 Steels and 6 Lithographs) as originally published."

  8. 13
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; Projectiles. countable, uncountable

    "The crews at the port batteries were pumping steel at the enemy."

  9. 14
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; A fringe of beads or decoration of this metal. countable, uncountable

    "A trailing skirt embroidered in what is termed fine steel."

  10. 15
    Any item made of this metal, particularly including:; A type of slide used while playing the steel guitar. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    Medicinal consumption of this metal; chalybeate medicine; (eventually) any iron or iron-treated water consumed as a medical treatment. obsolete, uncountable

    "A stronger physick is now necessary, perhaps a whole course of steel: A physick, God knowes, that this Kingdome hath been under five or six yeares."

  12. 17
    The gray hue of this metal; steel-gray, or steel blue. uncountable

    "Falkenhayn gave...to Jane a steel glacé silk dress."

  13. 18
    Extreme hardness or resilience. countable, figuratively, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To treat, furnish with, or transform into steel.; To edge, cover, or point with steel. literally, transitive

    "Hure þolien ant a beoren hare unirude duntes wið mealles istelet."

  2. 2
    cover, plate, or edge with steel wordnet
  3. 3
    To treat, furnish with, or transform into steel.; To back with steel. literally, obsolete, transitive

    "Nay, a Crystall glasse will not show a man his face, except it be steeled, except it be darkned on the backside."

  4. 4
    get ready for something difficult or unpleasant wordnet
  5. 5
    To treat, furnish with, or transform into steel.; To treat a liquid with steel for medicinal purposes. literally, obsolete, transitive

    "She drunk her drink steeled, with which she was cured."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    To treat, furnish with, or transform into steel.; To electroplate an item (particularly an engraving plate) with a layer of iron. literally, transitive

    "My large dry-point,...called Two Stumps of Driftwood, gave 1000 copies (after being steeled) without perceptible wearing."

  2. 7
    To treat, furnish with, or transform into steel.; To sharpen with a honing steel. literally, transitive
  3. 8
    To treat, furnish with, or transform into steel.; To steelify; to turn iron into steel. literally, transitive

    "By passing an electric current thus through the bars the operation of steeling is much hastened."

  4. 9
    To cause to resemble steel.; To harden or strengthen; to nerve or make obdurate; to fortify against. figuratively, transitive

    "But stil he was so steelde With heart so good, as victor he dead left them in the field."

  5. 10
    To cause to resemble steel.; To give (something) the appearance of steel. figuratively, literary, poetic, transitive

    "And lo! those waters, steeled By breezeless air to smoothest polish, yield A vivid repetition of the stars."

  6. 11
    To press with a flat iron. dialectal, transitive

    "Tha hasn't tha Sense to stile thy own Dressing."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Made of steel. not-comparable

    "Strained in stel ger on steedes of might."

  2. 2
    Similar to steel in color, strength, or the like; steely. not-comparable

    "Wher neuer cessing soyle doth steelebright stuff send out from mines."

  3. 3
    Of or belonging to the manufacture or trade in steel. not-comparable

    "[T]he discoverie of the yron and steele mines."

  4. 4
    Containing steel. not-comparable, obsolete

    "To mix some Sugar of steel, or steel wine with the first glass."

  5. 5
    Engraved on steel. not-comparable

    "The best picture I have had yet is the steel frontis-piece to my new book."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Coldbath Fields Prison in London, closed in 1877. UK, obsolete, slang, transitive

    "I was lugged before the beak, who gave me six doss in the steel. [...] six months in the Bastille (the old House of Corrections), Coldbath Fields."

  2. 2
    A surname.
  3. 3
    Bridewell Prison in London, England. UK, historical, obsolete, slang

Synonyms

All synonyms
swordadamantalloyanimateannealassessable stock

Example

More examples

"Your name was given to us by Mr. Hayashi of Keiyo Steel Corporation."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English stele, stel, from Old English stīele, from Proto-West Germanic *stahlī (“something made of steel”), enlargement of *stahl (“steel”), from Proto-Germanic *stahlą, from *stah- or *stag- (“to be firm, rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European *stak- (“to stay, to be firm”). Compare Scots stele, Yola stehli, German Stahl, Dutch staal.

Etymology 2

From French Bastille (a French prison).

Etymology 3

From Bastille.

Related phrases

Bessemer steelDamascus steelDamask steelGerman steelIndia steelSiemens-Martin steelToledo steelalloy steelaustenitic steelballs of steelblister steelblister-steel

More for "steel"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.