metal

Multiple Entries:
  metal    rare earth  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
metal/ˈmetl/

▶noun

• 1 a solid material which is typically hard, shiny, malleable, fusible, and ductile, with good electrical and thermal conductivity, e.g. iron, copper, and silver.

  ■ (metals) the steel tracks of a railway.

  ■ Heraldry gold and silver.

• 2 (also road metal) broken stone used in road-making.

• 3 molten glass before it is blown or cast.

• 4 heavy metal or similar rock music.

▶verb (metals, metalling, metalled; US metals, metaling, metaled) (usu. as adj. metalled)

• 1 make from or coat with metal.

• 2 Brit. make or mend (a road) with road metal.

– derivatives
metalware noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. metal or L. metallum, from Gk metallon ‘mine, quarry, or metal’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rare earth (also rare-earth element or metal)

▶noun Chemistry any of a group of chemically similar metallic elements comprising the lanthanide series and (usually) scandium and yttrium.