Definitions for steel
stilsteel

Princeton's WordNet(3.57 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. steel(noun)

   an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range

2. sword, blade, brand, steel(noun)

   a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard

3. steel(verb)

   knife sharpener consisting of a ridged steel rod

4. steel, nerve(verb)

   get ready for something difficult or unpleasant

5. steel(verb)

   cover, plate, or edge with steel

Wiktionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. steel(Noun)

   A metal alloy of mostly iron plus carbon, harder than pure elemental iron but malleable when hot.

2. steel(Noun)

   A tool used to sharpen or hone knives; a .

3. steel(Noun)

   A sword.

4. steel(Noun)

   A type of slide used in the practice of steel guitar.

5. steel(Noun)

   Hardness; strength in adversity; mettle.

6. steel(Verb)

   To harden.

   The harsh fall weather steeled them against the colder winter.

7. steel(Verb)

   To cover with steel

8. steel(Verb)

   To hone with a honing steel.

Origin: stele, stel, from Old English (North) stele, (South) style, from stahlijan (cf. West Frisian stiel), enlargement of stahlan (cf. staal, Stahl, Danish stål) from stak- ‘to stay, be firm’ (cf. Umbrian stakaz ‘upright, erected’, Avestan ‘strong’, Sanskrit ‘resist, strike against’).

Webster Dictionary(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Steel(noun)

   a variety of iron intermediate in composition and properties between wrought iron and cast iron (containing between one half of one per cent and one and a half per cent of carbon), and consisting of an alloy of iron with an iron carbide. Steel, unlike wrought iron, can be tempered, and retains magnetism. Its malleability decreases, and fusibility increases, with an increase in carbon

2. Steel(noun)

   an instrument or implement made of steel

3. Steel(noun)

   a weapon, as a sword, dagger, etc

4. Steel(noun)

   an instrument of steel (usually a round rod) for sharpening knives

5. Steel(noun)

   a piece of steel for striking sparks from flint

6. Steel(noun)

   fig.: Anything of extreme hardness; that which is characterized by sternness or rigor

7. Steel(noun)

   a chalybeate medicine

8. Steel(noun)

   to overlay, point, or edge with steel; as, to steel a razor; to steel an ax

9. Steel(noun)

   to make hard or strong; hence, to make insensible or obdurate

10. Steel(noun)

    fig.: To cause to resemble steel, as in smoothness, polish, or other qualities

11. Steel(noun)

    to cover, as an electrotype plate, with a thin layer of iron by electrolysis. The iron thus deposited is very hard, like steel

Origin: [AS. stlan: cf. Icel. staela. See Steel, n.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Steel

   Steel is an alloy of iron and other elements, including carbon. When carbon is the primary alloying element, its content in the steel is between 0.002% and 2.1% by weight. The following elements are always present in steel: carbon, manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, and traces of oxygen, nitrogen and aluminum. Alloying elements intentionally added to modify the characteristics of steel include: manganese, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, boron, titanium, vanadium and niobium. Carbon and other elements act as a hardening agent, preventing dislocations in the iron atom crystal lattice from sliding past one another. Varying the amount of alloying elements and the form of their presence in the steel controls qualities such as the hardness, ductility, and tensile strength of the resulting steel. Steel with increased carbon content can be made harder and stronger than iron, but such steel is also less ductile than iron. Alloys with a higher than 2.1% carbon are known as cast iron. Because they are not malleable even when hot, they can be worked only by casting, and they have lower melting point and good castability. Steel is also distinguishable from wrought iron, which can contain a small amount of carbon, but it is included in the form of slag inclusions.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Steel

   stēl, n. iron combined in varying proportions with carbon for making edged tools: any instrument or weapon of steel: an instrument of steel for sharpening knives on: a strip of steel for stiffening a corset: a piece of steel for striking fire from a flint: extreme hardness: a chalybeate medicine.—adj. made of steel: hard, unfeeling.—v.t. to overlay or edge with steel: to harden: to make obdurate.—adj. Steel′-clad, clad with steel-mail.—ns. Steel′-engraving, the art of engraving pictures on steel plates from which impressions may be taken, the impression or print so taken; Steel′iness, state of being steely, great hardness; Steel′ing, the welding of a steel edge on a cutting instrument; Steel′-pen, a pen-nib made of steel; Steel′-plate, a plate of steel: a plate of polished steel on which a design is engraved, the print taken from such.—adj. Steel′-plāt′ed, plated with steel.—n.pl. Steel′-toys, small articles of steel as buttons, buckles, &c.—n. Steel′-ware, articles made of steel collectively.—adj. Steel′y, made of steel: steel-like. [A.S. stýle; Ger. stahl.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Steel

   A tough, malleable, iron-based alloy containing up to, but no more than, two percent carbon and often other metals. It is used in medicine and dentistry in implants and instrumentation.

The Standard Electrical Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Steel

   A compound of iron with carbon. The carbon may range from a few hundredths of one per cent. up to two per cent. For magnets, tool steel drawn to a straw color or a little lower is good. All shaping and filing should be done before magnetization.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. steel

   See Ordnance, Metals for.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. steel

   Song lyrics by steel -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by steel on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'steel' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2774

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'steel' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2878

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'steel' in Nouns Frequency: #1172

Anagrams for steel »

1. leets

2. teles

3. sleet

4. stele

How to pronounce steel?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say steel in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of steel in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of steel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of steel in a Sentence

1. Mouchegh Petrossian:

   Stainless steel or gold are OK.

2. Assyrian Proverb:

   The hammer shatters glass but forges steel.

3. Prime Minister David Cameron:

   I don't think it would be a good future for steel.

4. Clint Masse:

   When you build in the snow, it's difficult. It's not steel.

5. Yuji Matsumoto:

   The pipe segment is an important profit driver for Nippon Steel.

Images & Illustrations of steel

Popularity rank by frequency of use