heavy metal
Americannoun
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heavy metals
plural
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any metal with a specific gravity of 5.0 or greater, especially one that is toxic to organisms, as lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium.
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aggressive and heavily amplified rock music, commonly performed by groups that wear spectacular or bizarre costumes.
noun
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a type of rock music characterized by a strong beat and amplified instrumental effects, sometimes with violent, or nihilistic lyrics
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( as modifier )
a heavy-metal band
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a metal with a high specific gravity
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military large guns or shot
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of heavy metal
1860–65, for literal sense
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.
Around half of the 6,000-or-so crowd members who showed up by 6 p.m. for the three-band bill, headlined by heavy metal legends Iron Maiden, raise their hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The mother-of-two, married to an economics professor with a ponytail, is a fan of heavy metal band System of a Down and held a "Sex and the City"-themed party for her 40th birthday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
"He would play heavy metal first thing in the morning at 6am on the days when he would behave badly," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Uranium, a radioactive heavy metal, is typically locked inside minerals in soil.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
The more I described my brother, my parents, our makeshift community before Dad left with the Council, the more I remembered, like the way my uncle jigged to heavy metal.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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.
