cast iron


noun
  1. an alloy of iron, carbon, and other elements, cast as a soft and strong, or as a hard and brittle, iron, depending on the mixture and methods of molding.

Origin of cast iron

1
1655–65; cast (past participle of cast) + iron

Words Nearby cast iron

Other definitions for cast-iron (2 of 2)

cast-iron
[ kast-ahy-ern, kahst- ]

adjective
  1. made of cast iron.

  2. not subject to change or exception: a cast-iron rule.

  1. hardy: a cast-iron stomach.

Origin of cast-iron

2
First recorded in 1655–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cast iron in a sentence

  • Now, the whole Northwest groaned beneath a cast-iron prohibition law at that time, and for some years thereafter.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • It is a cast-iron plunger-pole, over the shaft, of 33 inches diameter, 10-feet stroke.

  • There was no engine stopped on account of this accident; but I shall never let the fire come in contact again with the cast iron.

  • The boiler was a cylinder of cast iron, with a wrought-iron tube going through its length in which the fire was placed.

  • Improved stove pipings are now being manufactured in the States which in appearance exactly resemble cast-iron.

    Asbestos | Robert H. Jones

British Dictionary definitions for cast iron

cast iron

noun
  1. iron containing so much carbon (1.7 to 4.5 per cent) that it cannot be wrought and must be cast into shape

adjectivecast-iron
  1. made of cast iron

  2. rigid, strong, or unyielding: a cast-iron decision

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012