solder
Americannoun
-
solders
plural
-
any of various alloys fused and applied to the joint between metal objects to unite them without heating the objects to the melting point.
-
anything that joins or unites.
the solder of their common cause.
verb (used with object)
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solders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soldered,
past participle, past
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soldering
present participle
-
to join (metal objects) with solder.
-
to join closely and intimately.
two fates inseparably soldered by misfortune.
-
to mend; repair; patch up.
verb (used without object)
-
solders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soldered,
past participle, past
-
soldering
present participle
-
to unite things with solder.
-
to become soldered or united; grow together.
noun
-
an alloy for joining two metal surfaces by melting the alloy so that it forms a thin layer between the surfaces. Soft solders are alloys of lead and tin; brazing solders are alloys of copper and zinc
-
something that joins things together firmly; a bond
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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solderernoun
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resolderverb
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desolderverb (used with object)
-
solderableadjective
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solderlessadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
soldersimple
-
solderssimple
-
have solderedperfect
-
has solderedperfect
-
am solderingprogressive
-
are solderingprogressive
-
is solderingprogressive
-
have been solderingperfect progressive
-
has been solderingperfect progressive
Past
-
solderedsimple
-
had solderedperfect
-
was solderingprogressive
-
were solderingprogressive
-
had been solderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of solder
1325–75; (noun) Middle English soudour < Old French soudure, soldure, derivative of solder to solder < Latin solidāre to make solid, equivalent to solid ( us ) solid + -āre infinitive suffix; (v.) late Middle English, derivative of the noun
Explanation
If you want to be a metalsmith you’ll have to become familiar with solder, which is the substance you use to fuse two metal surfaces. The word solder traces back to the Latin word solidare, meaning “to make solid.” That’s what you use solder for: to make something solid. In this case you are joining two metal surfaces so they appear as one solid piece. The word also has a verb form, also solder, to describe the act of joining the metal pieces. You might use solder, for example, to solder a metal piece on a computer's motherboard.
Vocabulary lists containing solder
Gold Rush: Mining and Metals
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Tin is an element vital to the artificial intelligence industry, used as solder to attach microchips to circuit boards and bond together other electronics in data centres.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Analysts expect silver prices to remain higher than historical levels because of demand from data centers and other high-tech applications, which use the highly conductive metal for electrical contacts and solder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
“But you can’t do that with the hair. You have to build them individually and then solder them in.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
Khalife didn’t give his name, but did reveal he was a serving solder.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2024
“Well, dreamers? Do you mean to stand all day and gawk at one another? Get on with your solder making.”
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that neither federal law nor the Constitution shields military contractors if their mistakes or negligence result in solders being injured in a combat zone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
In the shade of the barracks, the solders were cleaning their Kalashnikovs.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
More often than not, organizations, educational systems, companies and other systems just want good solders who do what they're told and say nothing.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2024
They said they believed their father was the last survivor of the estimated 85,000 British, Australian and Indian solders who were captured when the British colony of Singapore fell to Japanese forces in February 1942.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
He charms the druggist’s wife into giving him a broken earphone; he salvages a solenoid from a discarded doorbell, solders it to a resistor, and makes a loudspeaker.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Dark-fleet vessels were also found with custom-made Ethernet cables soldered to ports on AIS systems, which enabled crews to push out fake location data and mask their whereabouts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
They also created a low-cost, printed circuit board with built-in digital microfluidics, which the emitter is soldered to.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2024
I knew his name — the same soldered to the email’s sign-off — and had a vague idea of what he looked like.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2024
She grew up in Fremont, Calif., where her dad launched a startup out of their garage and she soldered motherboards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
We soldered up the leaden coffin, screwed on the coffin-lid, and gathering up our belongings, came away.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Bolsonaro said he "experienced a certain paranoia between Friday and Saturday due to medication" when he had used a soldering iron on the monitoring bracelet, the document read.
From Barron's ● Nov. 23, 2025
"The project offered a wealth of learning opportunities. I've extended many skills, including programming, soldering and physics applications," Ms. Xu said.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2025
That setup, he said, can perform most of the functions needed for electronics assembly, such as soldering, inserting screws or peeling off protective films.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025
His first job, at 13, was soldering lead at a jewelry maker for 12 hours a day, breathing in the acrid fumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2025
He then gave me a quick lesson in soldering.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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