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copper

noun · adjective · verb

Simple meaning

A reddish-brown metal, symbol Cu, and atomic number 29.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahper

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɑpɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountable

    A reddish-brown metal, symbol Cu, and atomic number 29.

  2. A reddish-brown color resembling the color of polished copper

  3. A ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor

  4. countable

    A copper coin, typically of a small denomination, such as a penny.

  5. Any of various small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae having coppery wings

  6. entomology

    Any of various lycaenid butterflies with copper-coloured upperwings, especially those of the genera Lycaena and Paralucia.

adjective

  1. Made of copper.

  2. Having the reddish-brown colour/color of copper.

verb

  1. Coat with a layer of copper

  2. To sheathe or coat with copper.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A reddish-brown metal, symbol Cu, and atomic number 29.

Used this way, copper is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Science
  • Academic writing
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Nearby words

  • copper color , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Various / large

copper plate

Reddish / ductile

copper orecopper oxidecopper mine

Other combinations

copper sulphatecopper sulfatenative coppercopper wire

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • copper minenounCompound term

    A mine where copper is dug from the ground.

  • copper nosenounCompound term

    Enlargement of the nose with dilation of follicles and redness and prominent vascularity of the skin.

  • copper oxidenounCompound term

    An oxide of copper.

  • copper pyritesnounCompound term

    A yellow copper ore (CuFeS2) made up of copper and iron sulfide.

  • copper rockfishnounCompound term

    A rockfish of the Pacific coastal waters of North America.

  • copper sulfatenounCompound term

    A copper salt made by the action of sulfuric acid on copper oxide.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • copperplate engravingnounRelated term

    An engraving consisting of a smooth plate of copper that has been etched or engraved.

  • blue copperasnounRelated term

    Hydrated blue crystalline form of copper sulfate.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: reddish-brown metal or symbol Cu

copper colorRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.