copper

¹ American  

[kop-er] / ˈkɒp ər /

noun

1. 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.

2. a metallic reddish brown.

3. a coin composed of copper, bronze, or the like, as the U.S. cent or the British penny.

4. any of several butterflies of the family Lycaenidae, as Lycaena hypophleas American copper, having copper-colored wings spotted and edged with black.

5. a container made of copper.

6. a tool partly or wholly made of copper.

   a soldering copper.

7. British. a large kettle, now usually made of iron, used for cooking or to boil laundry.

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adjective

1. made of copper.

   copper kettles.

2. reddish-brown; coppery.

   The copper sun sank into the sea.

verb (used with object)

• coppers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• coppered,
  past participle,  past
• coppering
  present participle

1. to cover, coat, or sheathe with copper.

2. Informal. hedge.

copper ² American  

[kop-er] / ˈkɒp ər /

noun

Slang.

1. a police officer.

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copper ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒpə /

noun

1. Often shortened to: cop.  a slang word for policeman

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copper ² British  

/ ˈkɒpə /

noun

1. 1. 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

   2. ( as modifier )

      a copper coin

2. 1. the reddish-brown colour of copper

   2. ( as adjective )

      copper hair

3. informal any copper or bronze coin

4. a large vessel, formerly of copper, used for boiling or washing

5. any of various small widely distributed butterflies of the genera Lycaena, Heodes, etc, typically having reddish-brown wings: family Lycaenidae

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verb

1. (tr) to coat or cover with copper

copper Scientific  

/ kŏp′ər /

1. 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.

2. See Periodic Table See Note at element

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coppery
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• coppering
  present
• coppered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• copper
  simple
• coppers
  simple
• have coppered
  perfect
• has coppered
  perfect
• am coppering
  progressive
• are coppering
  progressive
• is coppering
  progressive
• have been coppering
  perfect progressive
• has been coppering
  perfect progressive

Past

• coppered
  simple
• had coppered
  perfect
• was coppering
  progressive
• were coppering
  progressive
• had been coppering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will copper
  simple
• will have coppered
  perfect
• will be coppering
  progressive
• will have been coppering
  perfect progressive

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

First recorded in 1830–40; perhaps cop ² + -er ¹

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

copper coppers coppered coppering

Hichilema entered the race as the clear favourite after steering Zambia -- Africa's second-largest copper producer -- through a major economic turnaround and restructuring its debt.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

It also produces silver, copper, lead and gold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

It will gradually turn a reddish, copper color as sunlight bends and filters through the atmosphere to fall on the otherwise-obscured part of the moon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Researchers have developed a new surface coating that can increase condensation heat transfer performance by as much as 5.5 times compared with conventional copper surfaces.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

Necklaces of shiny beads, copper, and tiny, beautiful shells go scattering over the ground.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

“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 Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2020

The question is, whether this would make up for the money lost if there were no coppers to donate?

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2018

“Thank you, Mr. Tooth,” I say, handing over two coppers.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Within the last month Alsop coppered the Longworth bet by wagering heavily on Ike to run.

From Time Magazine Archive

He was a man of powerful physique, his skin deep coppered by long exposure to prairie winds and sun.

From Deep Furrows by Hopkins Moorhouse

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 Archibald Webb

But by 1783 ships of every class were coppered.

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 Sir Edward Belcher

Yet at times he had what he called a "coppered hunch."

From Never-Fail Blake by Arthur Stringer

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

He told husband that he had been "coppering" the market ever since he came to the city and had "taken every trick."

From The Comstock Club by Charles Carroll Goodwin

This year also the experiment for coppering ships’ bottoms as a preservation against worms was introduced into the Royal Navy, and tried on the Alarm frigate, of 32 guns.

From How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves Updated to 1900 by William Henry Giles Kingston

Not that you have not played your game well enough, but there never was a game played so well that some other fellow could not win by coppering it.

From 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough

The French ships, larger, deeper, and with better lines than their opponents, were naturally better sailers, and it may be inferred that even coppering had not entirely overcome this original disadvantage of the British.

From The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

Related Words

• constable
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• officer
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