high-speed steel

American  

noun

1. an especially hard, heat-resistant steel for use in lathe tools and for other applications involving high friction and wear.

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high-speed steel British  

noun

1. any of various steels that retain their hardness at high temperatures and are thus suitable for making tools used on lathes and other high-speed machines

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Etymology

Origin of high-speed steel

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

This characteristic led to the term "red-hardness," and it is this property that has made possible the use of very high cutting speeds in tools made of the tungsten-chromium alloy, that is, "high-speed" steel.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

Do not soak high-speed steel at high heats.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

The quality of high-speed steel is dependent to a very great extent upon its structure.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

Special points of caution to be observed when hardening high-speed steel.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

The complex hardenites in high-speed steel may be described as that form of solid solution which gives to it its cutting efficiency.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)