ingot

American  

[ing-guht] / ˈɪŋ gət /

noun

1. a mass of metal cast in a convenient form for shaping, remelting, or refining.

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verb (used with object)

• ingots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ingoted,
  past participle,  past
• ingoting
  present participle

1. to make ingots of; shape into ingots.

ingot British  

/ ˈɪŋɡət /

noun

1. a piece of cast metal obtained from a mould in a form suitable for storage, transporting, and further use

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verb

1. (tr) to shape (metal) into ingots

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ingoting
  present
• ingoted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ingot
  simple
• ingots
  simple
• have ingoted
  perfect
• has ingoted
  perfect
• am ingoting
  progressive
• are ingoting
  progressive
• is ingoting
  progressive
• have been ingoting
  perfect progressive
• has been ingoting
  perfect progressive

Past

• ingoted
  simple
• had ingoted
  perfect
• was ingoting
  progressive
• were ingoting
  progressive
• had been ingoting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ingot
  simple
• will have ingoted
  perfect
• will be ingoting
  progressive
• will have been ingoting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ingot

1350–1400; Middle English: literally, (something) poured in, equivalent to in- in- ¹ + got ( e ) a stream, Old English *gota, akin to gēotan to flow; cognate with German giessen, Gothic giutan, Old Norse gjōta to pour

Explanation

A processed piece of fine metal is an ingot. If you find a buried treasure chest, cross your fingers that it's full of gold ingots! When ingot was originally used in the 1500s, it meant "mold in which metal is cast." To make an ingot, metal is melted and poured into such a mold, where it hardens into a bar. Ingots are used to make metal easy to transport, store, and measure — and sometimes to be directly traded for money, particularly in the case of gold.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ingot ingots

A complete plano-convex ingot has been uncovered in Sweden for the first time.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 23, 2025

A thin wire is dipped into the mix and rotated for about three days, forming a polysilicon cylinder known as an ingot.

From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025

The hoard also included a Ninth Century gold ring, a crystal rock pendant, a dragon's head bracelet and an ingot.

From BBC ● May 22, 2025

The presence of a usable ingot seemed unlikely, and if true, downright alchemic.

From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

A gold ingot in the tines of a scallop rake.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

Cylinders of polysilicon called ingots are sliced to form wafers, which are combined to create solar cells and then arranged together to form modules that are placed on racks to generate electricity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

"Roman ingots are exceptionally rare and represent a tangible link to Wales' Roman industrial past," said landowner and farmer Geraint Jenkins, who granted the detectorists permission to search on the land.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

The ingots are cut into wafers with a wire saw, which move through multiple machines to be polished, tested and boxed up so they can be sent to the next stage of the supply chain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026

The ring's surface was adorned with the Chinese character for "luck" and tiny images of traditional gold ingots.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

Two weeks after her burial, Rose’s husband arrived loaded with ingots of gold for the children, two-dollar pieces for the women and snake oil for the men.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison