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

The only true test for a brand of high-speed steel is the service that it gives by continued performance month in and month out under actual shop conditions.

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

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)

It is not the intention to make any definite recommendations as to heat-treating of high-speed steel by the users.

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

The Latrobe Steel Company make a high-speed steel without tungsten, its red-hardness properties depending on chromium and cobalt instead of tungsten.

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

The successful manufacture of high-speed steel can only be obtained by those companies who have become specialists.

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