heavy metal

noun

1. any metal with a specific gravity of 5.0 or greater, especially one that is toxic to organisms, as lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium.

2. aggressive and heavily amplified rock music, commonly performed by groups that wear spectacular or bizarre costumes.

heavy metal

noun

1. 1. a type of rock music characterized by a strong beat and amplified instrumental effects, sometimes with violent, or nihilistic lyrics

   2. ( as modifier )

      a heavy-metal band

2. a metal with a high specific gravity

3. military large guns or shot

Other Word Forms

• heavy-metal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of heavy metal¹

1860–65, for literal sense

Example Sentences

In addition to the high he gets from playing live, he is currently working on a heavy metal concept album complete with dialogue.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Consumer Reports found that as protein popularity has skyrocketed, the presence of lead and heavy metals has only gotten worse.

Read more on Salon

“I don’t think they knew what heavy metal music was,” recalls Karen Murphy, Mr. Reiner’s producing partner.

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With names like dysprosium, neodymium and cerium, rare earths are a group of 17 heavy metals that are abundant throughout the Earth's crust.

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The heavy metal is 500 times more carcinogenic than diesel exhaust and poses the second-highest cancer risk of all toxic air contaminants tracked by the state, according to the California Air Resources Board.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• melody 
• opera 
• piece 
• rap 
• rock 
• singing www.thesaurus.com
• soul 
• tune