English > alloy: 4 senses > noun 1, substance| Meaning | A mixture containing two or more metallic elements or metallic and nonmetallic elements usually fused together or dissolving into each other when molten. |
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| Example | "brass is an alloy of zinc and copper" |
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| Synonym | metal |
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| Narrower | 18-karat gold | An alloy that contains 75 per cent gold |
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| 22-karat gold | An alloy that contains 87 per cent gold |
| Alnico | trade name for an alloy used to make high-energy permanent magnets |
| Babbitt metal, babbitt | An alloy of tin with some copper and antimony |
| Britannia metal | An alloy similar to pewter |
| Carboloy | An alloy based on tungsten with cobalt or nickel as a binder |
| Duralumin | An aluminum-based alloy |
| Inconel | A nickel-base alloy with chromium and iron |
| Invar | An alloy of iron and nickel having a low coefficient of thermal expansion |
| Stellite | A very hard alloy of cobalt and chromium with cobalt as the principal ingredient |
| Wood's metal, Wood's alloy | A fusible alloy that is half bismuth plus lead, tin, and cadmium |
| amalgam, dental amalgam | An alloy of mercury with another metal (usually silver) used by dentists to fill cavities in teeth |
| cheoplastic metal | Any alloy that fuses at low temperatures and can be used molding artificial teeth |
| copper-base alloy | Any alloy whose principal component is copper |
| dental gold | An alloy of gold used in dentistry |
| electrum | An alloy of gold and silver |
| fusible metal | An alloy with a low melting point and used as solder and in safety plugs and sprinkler fuses |
| heavy metal | A metal of relatively high density / density (specific gravity greater than about 5) or of high relative atomic weight (especially one that is poisonous like mercury or lead) |
| nickel-base alloy, nickel alloy | An alloy whose main constituent is nickel |
| nickel silver, German silver | A silver-white alloy containing copper and zinc and nickel |
| oroide, oreide | alloy of copper and tin and zinc |
| pewter | Any of various alloys of tin with small amounts of other metals (especially lead) |
| pinchbeck | An alloy of copper and zinc that is used in cheap jewelry to imitate gold |
| pot metal | An alloy of copper and lead used especially for making large pots |
| pyrophoric alloy | An alloy that emits sparks when struck or scratched with steel |
| shot metal | An alloy that is 98% lead and 2% arsenic |
| solder | An alloy (usually of lead and tin) used when melted to join two metal surfaces |
| steel | An alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon |
| sterling silver | A silver alloy with no more than 7.5% copper |
| tombac, tombak, tambac | An alloy of copper and zinc (and sometimes arsenic) used to imitate gold in cheap jewelry and for gilding |
| type metal | An alloy of tin and lead and antimony used to make printing type |
| white gold | A pale alloy of gold usually with platinum or nickel or palladium |
| white metal, bearing metal | An alloy (often of lead or tin base) used for bearings |
| Broader | mixture | (chemistry) a substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together (not in fixed proportions and not with chemical bonding) |
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| Substances | solid solution, primary solid solution | A homogeneous solid that can exist over a range of component chemicals |
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| Spanish | aleación, metal |
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| Catalan | aliatge, lliga |
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| Verbs | alloy | lower in value by increasing the base-metal content |
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