precious metal

Any of several metals, including gold and platinum, that have high economic value.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

precious metal

any of the metals gold, silver, or platinum

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pre′cious met′al

a metal of the gold, silver, or platinum group.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

precious metal - any of the less common and valuable metals often used to make coins or jewelry

valuable - something of value; "all our valuables were stolen"

bullion - a mass of precious metal

gold - coins made of gold

silver - coins made of silver

Translations

مَعْدَن ثمين

drahý kov

ædelmetal

Edelmetall

métal précieux

nemesfém

dÿrmætur

edelt metall

metal precioso

drahý kov

değerli maden

贵金属

precious metal

n → Edelmetall nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

precious

(ˈpreʃəs) adjective

of great value. precious jewels.

precious metal

a valuable metal such as gold, silver or platinum.

precious stone

a jewel; a gem. diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones.

precious few/little

very few/little. I've precious little money left.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

No sooner said than done; but all his joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbour had two rooms full of the precious metal. Then came the turn of the Envious man, who could not bear to think that his neighbour had any joy at all.

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In the meantime he would carry as much of the precious metal to the summit of the kopje as he could.

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In one room were seven pillars of solid gold, and in another the floor itself was of the precious metal. And all the while that he explored, his blacks huddled close together at his back, and strange shapes hovered upon either hand and before them and behind, yet never close enough that any might say that they were not alone.

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The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.

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He also wore armlets, and cinctures above the ankles, of the latter precious metal. His head, on the whole of which the hair had been permitted to grow, the pursuits of war having so long been abandoned, was encircled by a sort of plated diadem, which, in its turn, bore lesser and more glittering ornaments, that sparkled amid the glossy hues of three drooping ostrich feathers, dyed a deep black, in touching contrast to the color of his snow-white locks.

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He had bracelets of gold upon his arms, and a broad collar of the same precious metal around his neck.

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From whence came this precious metal, which represented an enormous sum?

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The face of the entire cliff was, as later inspection conclusively proved, so shot with veins and patches of solid gold as to quite present the appearance of a solid wall of that precious metal except where it was broken by outcroppings of ruby, emerald, and diamond boulders--a faint and alluring indication of the vast and unguessable riches which lay deeply buried behind the magnificent surface.

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In place of the usual deer-skin belt, he wore around his body a tarnished silken sash of the most gaudy colours; the buck-horn haft of his knife was profusely decorated with plates of silver; the marten's fur of his cap was of a fineness and shadowing that a queen might covet; the buttons of his rude and soiled blanket-coat were of the glittering coinage of Mexico; the stock of his rifle was of beautiful mahogany, riveted and banded with the same precious metal, and the trinkets of no less than three worthless watches dangled from different parts of his person.

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In the Galu Du-seen and his warriors I saw something of the explanation of the term "golden race" which is applied to them, for their ornaments and weapons were either wholly of beaten gold or heavily decorated with the precious metal. They were a very imposing set of men--tall and straight and handsome.

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The dishes were of precious metals set with brilliant jewels and the good things to eat which were placed upon them were countless in number and of exquisite flavor.

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TWO leading objects of commercial gain have given birth to wide and daring enterprise in the early history of the Americas; the precious metals of the South, and the rich peltries of the North.

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