bronze
Americannoun
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Metallurgy.
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any of various alloys consisting essentially of copper and tin, the tin content not exceeding 11 percent.
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any of various other alloys having a large copper content.
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a metallic brownish color.
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a work of art, as a statue, statuette, bust, or medal, composed of bronze.
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Numismatics. a coin made of bronze, especially one from the Roman Empire.
verb (used with object)
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to give the appearance or color of bronze to.
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to make brown, as by exposure to the sun.
The sun bronzed his face.
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Printing.
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to apply a fine metallic powder to (the ink of a printed surface) in order to create a glossy effect.
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to apply a fine metallic powder to (areas of a reproduction proof on acetate) in order to increase opacity.
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adjective
noun
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any hard water-resistant alloy consisting of copper and smaller proportions of tin and sometimes zinc and lead
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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
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a yellowish-brown colour or pigment
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a statue, medal, or other object made of bronze
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short for bronze medal
adjective
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made of or resembling bronze
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of a yellowish-brown colour
a bronze skin
verb
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(esp of the skin) to make or become brown; tan
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(tr) to give the appearance of bronze to
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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.
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An alloy of copper and certain metals other than tin, such as aluminum.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bronzelikeadjective
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bronzyadjective
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prebronzeadjective
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quasi-bronzeadjective
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unbronzedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bronzesimple
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bronzessimple
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have bronzedperfect
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has bronzedperfect
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am bronzingprogressive
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are bronzingprogressive
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is bronzingprogressive
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have been bronzingperfect progressive
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has been bronzingperfect progressive
Past
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bronzedsimple
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had bronzedperfect
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was bronzingprogressive
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were bronzingprogressive
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had been bronzingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing bronze
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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:
She placed fourth, achieving the same total as India's bronze medallist Laishram Devi but losing out on a podium place by virtue of weighing more than her rival.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
The 19-year-old performed well in the final routine of the women's programme, with silver for England's Abigail Martin, whose team-mate Shantae-Eve Amankwaah took bronze.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The 2021 bronze medalist primarily works with second to fourth-graders, with a significant number coming from the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
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
“You got me out of that bronze jar in Rome. Saved my life yet again. It was the least I could do.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Golds, silvers and bronzes won in Para-events will, unlike with other multi-sport events, count towards the overall medal total.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
These are paired with the organic wooden sculptures of Claudia Comte, the curvaceous surfaces of which echo the lively plants of Matisse’s cut-outs, and touching bronzes by Geles Cabrera.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
She won a silver and two bronzes at the 2019 Worlds before retiring in 2021.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
All the Lauder pieces sold, including the Klimt, an Edvard Munch painting and Henri Matisse bronzes, for $528 million combined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
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
It arrives in a thick, architectural slab, edges bronzed, interior plush but disciplined.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 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
From full-body taxidermy to partial mementos — skulls, bronzed hearts or freeze-dried paws, for example — such services provide closure in ways that, clients say, traditional burials or urns cannot.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
Not me—like Juanita I was big boned, darkly bronzed from being out in the sun every day, and homely as a gingersnap.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was bronzing.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2022
The thistledown floats; and see, yonder the white balls are rolling before the gentle air along the very tips of the bronzing wheat-ears.
From Round About a Great Estate by Jefferies, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
