bronze

American  

[bronz] / brɒnz /

noun

bronzes plural

1. Metallurgy.

   1. any of various alloys consisting essentially of copper and tin, the tin content not exceeding 11 percent.

   2. any of various other alloys having a large copper content.

2. a metallic brownish color.

3. a work of art, as a statue, statuette, bust, or medal, composed of bronze.

4. Numismatics. a coin made of bronze, especially one from the Roman Empire.

---

verb (used with object)

bronzes, present (3rd person singular) bronzed, past participle, past bronzing present participle

1. to give the appearance or color of bronze to.

2. to make brown, as by exposure to the sun.

   The sun bronzed his face.

3. Printing.

   1. to apply a fine metallic powder to (the ink of a printed surface) in order to create a glossy effect.

   2. to apply a fine metallic powder to (areas of a reproduction proof on acetate) in order to increase opacity.

adjective

1. having the color bronze.

bronze British  

/ brɒnz /

noun

1. 1. any hard water-resistant alloy consisting of copper and smaller proportions of tin and sometimes zinc and lead

   2. any similar copper alloy containing other elements in place of tin, such as aluminium bronze, beryllium bronze, etc See also phosphor bronze gunmetal Compare brass

2. a yellowish-brown colour or pigment

3. a statue, medal, or other object made of bronze

4. short for bronze medal

---

adjective

1. made of or resembling bronze

2. of a yellowish-brown colour

   a bronze skin

verb

1. (esp of the skin) to make or become brown; tan

2. (tr) to give the appearance of bronze to

bronze Scientific  

/ brŏnz /

1. A yellow or brown alloy of copper and tin, sometimes with small amounts of other metals such as lead or zinc. Bronze is harder than brass and is used both in industry and in art.

2. An alloy of copper and certain metals other than tin, such as aluminum.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bronzelike
  adjective
• bronzy
  adjective
• prebronze
  adjective
• quasi-bronze
  adjective
• unbronzed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bronzes
  plural

Participles

• bronzing
  present
• bronzed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bronze
  simple
• bronzes
  simple
• have bronzed
  perfect
• has bronzed
  perfect
• am bronzing
  progressive
• are bronzing
  progressive
• is bronzing
  progressive
• have been bronzing
  perfect progressive
• has been bronzing
  perfect progressive

Past

• bronzed
  simple
• had bronzed
  perfect
• was bronzing
  progressive
• were bronzing
  progressive
• had been bronzing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bronze
  simple
• will have bronzed
  perfect
• will be bronzing
  progressive
• will have been bronzing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bronze

1730–40; < French < Italian, of obscure origin

Explanation

Bronze is a dull gold-colored metal that's used to make musical instruments, sculptures, and coins. If you get a bronze medal in the Olympics, you came in third place — nice job! Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, and other metals. For a long time, pennies were made of bronze (today they use zinc). Cymbals, bells, and gongs are traditionally crafted using bronze, and you'll get tired of counting the many bronze sculptures found in most art museums. As a verb, this word is frequently used to mean "tan," so while you burn when you forget your sunblock, your cousin tends to bronze to a burnished shade of brown.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bronze bronzes bronzed bronzing

The result was her 2024 Roberts Projects exhibit, “Betye Saar: New Work,” an objet trouvé medley in bronze and gold hues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Emily outlined how she recovered from her disappointment of finishing fourth to clinch her bronze.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

After winning bronze in Birmingham four years ago, Lamboria hopes to leave Glasgow with gold.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

In Glasgow, despite coming into the final as the fastest qualifier, he had to settle for bronze.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Some men just ran over and placed big bronze sculptures of crabs at the four corners of the pedestal.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

"The expense is in the making of the bronzes, that's why it costs a lot to have them done. Money value in the metal it is nothing," he said.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

GB's only previous Olympic medals on snow were bronzes - for snowboarder Jenny Jones in 2014, and freestyle skier Izzy Atkin and snowboarder Billy Morgan four years later.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

And they spend millions of dollars on things like rare books and Chinese bronzes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

His show provided an antidote to the chilly Parisian air, with Middle Eastern warmth recreated through a colour palette of blush pinks, bronzes and desert tones.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026

There were paintings, bronzes, tapestries, all beautifully arranged.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

She has shared a before-and-after with her 59,000 followers: Her face, once splotchy with some acne scarring, is now clear, bronzed and glowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026

We wanted pasta that stretched and sighed, casseroles that arrived bubbling and bronzed, soups that tasted like something rescued from memory and improved by adulthood.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025

Effective public health messaging – which has drilled "Slip, Slop, Slap" into their heads – competes with a beauty culture which often idolises bronzed skin.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025

She posted images of city workers prying out the two figures from the bench and the bronzed Castro and Guevara being ignominiously hauled away in a bulldozer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2025

Now she just leaned back and shouted out the answers, her bronzed arms folded across her chest like some great grammar genie.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Not long ago, the “Mar-a-Lago face” seemed inescapable — a viral shorthand for an exaggerated cosmetic aesthetic marked by heavy bronzing, sharply sculpted cheeks, overly plumped lips and high-gloss polish.

From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2026

Bahder, whose expertise traditionally involves detecting lethal bronzing in palm trees, explained that the fundamental process of molecular testing is similar across different organisms, with the main difference being the DNA sequence.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2024

“He’s been applying his bronzing cream to his face. Cute couple. Look out, Melania, Trump’s got a new squeeze named Elonia Musk.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024

Hyposecretion of the corticosteroids can cause Addison’s disease, which may result in bronzing of the skin, hypoglycemia, and low electrolyte levels in the blood.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

The honeysuckle over Tom Watson's window was thinning under the heat and bronzing under the drouth.

From Oldfield A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Banks, Nancy Huston