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

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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

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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

Antofagasta also gave copper production guidance for 2027, expecting a range of 630,000 to 690,000 tons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Chile, which is responsible for nearly a quarter of global copper output, saw production fall to its lowest level in 15 years in August due to storms and operational problems.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Jefferies increases its long-term copper price to US$6/lb, from US$5/lb.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

To investigate how Alzheimer's-related plaques develop, Yarahmadian created a mathematical framework that simulates the chemical reactions involved when metals such as copper and zinc interact with amyloid-beta.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

At fourteen dollars a month, his duties included controlling the mules along the canal’s towpath as they pulled the boat, which was loaded with supplies such as lumber, coal, iron, or copper ore.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Her odyssey also takes her to Falster, an island at the bottom of the country, where she finds “a cluster of sooty coppers on a few glossy yellow flowers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

“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

Could the man seemingly most committed to rooting out bent coppers be the worst of them all?

From BBC ● May 1, 2021

“Trainees, suitcases will be brought to your room. As a new safety protocol and precaution, coppers will be checking them. Don't be alarmed. Keep the line tidy on the stairs.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

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

From Time Magazine Archive

To seaward he could gaze down a vista of rocky and deserted islets resembling slag heaps, where the sinking sun showed like a red-hot spot in the huge, coppered oven in which he found himself.

From Where the Pavement Ends by John Russell

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

It does not very much matter whether both ends are coppered before one is soldered up or not.

From On Laboratory Arts by Richard Threlfall

He had examined a coppered ship under repair, and found the bolts corroded and eaten away.

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

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

It seems they sing, Even though coppering is not an easy thing.

From Men, Women and Ghosts by Amy Lowell

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

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

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