copper
1 Americannoun
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a malleable, ductile, metallic element having a characteristic reddish-brown color: used in large quantities as an electrical conductor and in the manufacture of alloys, as brass and bronze. Cu; 63.54; 29; 8.92 at 20°C.
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a metallic reddish brown.
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a coin composed of copper, bronze, or the like, as the U.S. cent or the British penny.
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any of several butterflies of the family Lycaenidae, as Lycaena hypophleas American copper, having copper-colored wings spotted and edged with black.
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a container made of copper.
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a tool partly or wholly made of copper.
a soldering copper.
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British. a large kettle, now usually made of iron, used for cooking or to boil laundry.
adjective
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made of copper.
copper kettles.
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reddish-brown; coppery.
The copper sun sank into the sea.
verb (used with object)
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to cover, coat, or sheathe with copper.
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Informal. hedge.
noun
noun
noun
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a malleable ductile reddish metallic element occurring as the free metal, copper glance, and copper pyrites: used as an electrical and thermal conductor and in such alloys as brass and bronze. Symbol: Cu; atomic no: 29; atomic wt: 63.546; valency: 1 or 2; relative density: 8.96; melting pt: 1084.87±+0.2°C; boiling pt: 2563°C
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( as modifier )
a copper coin
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the reddish-brown colour of copper
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( as adjective )
copper hair
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informal any copper or bronze coin
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a large vessel, formerly of copper, used for boiling or washing
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any of various small widely distributed butterflies of the genera Lycaena, Heodes, etc, typically having reddish-brown wings: family Lycaenidae
verb
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A reddish-brown, ductile, malleable metallic element that is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. It is widely used for electrical wires, water pipes, and rust-resistant parts, either in its pure form or in alloys such as brass and bronze. Atomic number 29; atomic weight 63.546; melting point 1,083°C; boiling point 2,595°C; specific gravity 8.96; valence 1, 2.
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See Periodic Table See Note at element
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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coppersimple
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copperssimple
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have copperedperfect
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has copperedperfect
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am copperingprogressive
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are copperingprogressive
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is copperingprogressive
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have been copperingperfect progressive
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has been copperingperfect progressive
Past
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copperedsimple
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had copperedperfect
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was copperingprogressive
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were copperingprogressive
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had been copperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of copper1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English coper, copper, Old English coper, copor (cognate with Old Norse koparr, German Kupfer ), from Late Latin cuprum, for Latin ( aes ) Cyprium “(metal) from Cyprus”
Origin of copper2
Explanation
Copper is a reddish-gold colored metal that's commonly used in electrical wires and plumbing. Your grandmother might make her famous chocolate caramel sauce in a shiny copper pot. Before 1983, pennies were 95 percent copper. Today, they're almost entirely zinc (a less expensive metal), coated with a thin copper plating. They look the same, but the older coins are quite a bit heavier. Copper is a good conductor of heat and electricity, which is why it's used for both fancy cookware and wires. You can also use copper for things that have a similar color: "His copper curls make him stand out from the other choir members."
Vocabulary lists containing copper
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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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:
The miner reported a 3% rise in copper-equivalent production for the first half, which included a lift in copper output, lithium production and global iron-ore sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
It sealed the vaults that house the copper wire with a “special glue,” Derdarian said, which has reduced the number of additional thefts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
By the researcher's calculations, that figure is seven to 165 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of copper produced, depending on the sulfide content of the metal ore and local geologic conditions.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The US has been maintaining active tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on Canadian steel, aluminum, and copper.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The clerk caught my eye and said, “Those are copper pyrite rocks.”
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
In a nod to modernity, the buckets possessed a QR code on the outside - for digital donations - as well as coppers and some notes on the inside.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2024
“This isn’t the local coppers coming down, these are men in dark suits.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2022
Mette, who has been with the department for 18 years, told "young coppers" they have a "long way to go."
From Fox News ● Oct. 21, 2021
“You want to say ‘I know all these coppers, I know all these things?’
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2020
And I had gone into the sandalwood box where I kept my savings and taken out twenty coppers and four twenty-cent pieces.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
Within the last month Alsop coppered the Longworth bet by wagering heavily on Ike to run.
From Time Magazine Archive
She's new coppered, and hasn't broke up yet.'
From A Modern Buccaneer by Boldrewood, Rolf
In former ships of war, a fine white painted line or bend, representing the deep line of flotation, on the coppered edge.—Load water-line.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
The officers acknowledged to their captors that there were a considerable number more gunboats in the harbour, all new and coppered, very fast, and well fitted for service.
From Ben Burton Born and Bred at Sea by Webb, Archibald
Both the boats on which the edifice rests are well coppered, and protected from injury by booms placed around them.
From The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 2, September, 1851 by Various
Clampett & Co. expect to get richer still on royalties, and are coppering their bet by making a round-the-world tour, beating bandits and fattening the market for their book.
From Time Magazine Archive
A method of coppering soldered articles will be described later on.
From On Laboratory Arts by Threlfall, Richard
Well, have your own way; but I'll fool you again, while you're coppering me.
From The Spenders A Tale of the Third Generation by Wilson, Harry Leon
Later I asked husband what "coppering" meant and he smiled and said: "betting that it will not win."
From The Comstock Club by Goodwin, Charles Carroll
It seems they sing, Even though coppering is not an easy thing.
From Men, Women and Ghosts by Lowell, Amy
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.
