duralumin

[ doo-ral-yuh-min, dyoo- ]

/ dʊˈræl yə mɪn, dyʊ- /

noun

an alloy of aluminum that is 4 percent copper and contains small amounts of magnesium, manganese, iron, and silicon: used for applications requiring lightness and strength, as in airplane construction.

Nearby words

durable press, durain, dural, dural sheath, dural sinus, duralumin, duramen, duran, durance, durand, durand, asher brown

Origin of duralumin

1905–10; < Latin dūr(us) hard + alumin(um)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for duralumin

Are their motors made with sheet steel cylinders or with duralumin engine blocks?
The Great Drought|Sterner St. Paul Meek
Duralumin is four or five times as strong as aluminum and yet weighs but little more.
Inventions of the Great War|A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
The duralumin factory is capable of meeting all Zeppelin requirements.
Zeppelin|Harry Vissering
But duralumin, probably, a very light, strong alloy; and what I have here is a hunting knife with a can-opener on one end!
Astounding Stories, July, 1931|Various

The latest German airplane, the "Junker," was made entirely of duralumin.
Creative Chemistry|Edwin E. Slosson

British Dictionary definitions for duralumin

Duralumin

/ (djʊˈræljʊmɪn) /

noun

trademark a light strong aluminium alloy containing 3.5–4.5 per cent of copper with small quantities of silicon, magnesium, and manganese; used in aircraft manufacture

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012