# metal

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmɛ.təl/ · frequency rank #1,607

## Definitions
1. Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.
2. Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.
3. Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.
4. Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.
5. Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.
6. Chemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from.
7. A light tincture used in a coat of arms, specifically argent (white or silver) and or (gold).
8. Molten glass that is to be blown or moulded to form objects.
9. A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, etc.) characterized by strong drumbeats and distorted guitars.
10. The substance that constitutes something or someone; matter; hence, character or temper.
11. The effective power or calibre of guns carried by a vessel of war.
12. The rails of a railway.
13. The actual airline operating a flight, rather than any of the codeshare operators.

## Etymology
From Middle English metal, a borrowing from Old French metal, from Latin metallum (“metal, mine, quarry, mineral”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek μέταλλον (métallon, “mine, quarry, metal”).

## Easily confused with
- **MTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mta)
- **mets** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mets)
- **meth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-meth)
- **Metz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-metz)
- **moral** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-moral)
- **meter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-meter)
- **metre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-metre)
- **motel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-motel)
- **mural** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mural)
- **modal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-modal)
- **mutual** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mutual)
- **metals** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-metals)
- **mortal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mortal)
- **methyl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-methyl)
- **mettle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mettle)
- **mitral** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-mitral)
- **Metcalf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/metal-vs-metcalf)
- **met** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/met-vs-metal)
- **mel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mel-vs-metal)
- **mal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mal-vs-metal)

## Common misspellings (7)
`emtal`, `meatl`, `metall`, `metla`, `mettal`, `mmetal`, `mteal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/metal