metallurgy
Americannoun
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the technique or science of working or heating metals so as to give them certain desired shapes or properties.
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the technique or science of making and compounding alloys.
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the technique or science of separating metals from their ores.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of metallurgy
1695–1705; < New Latin metallurgia < Greek metallourg ( ós ) working in metals, mining + New Latin -ia -ia. See metall-, -urgy
Explanation
Metallurgy is the science of metals. If you know a lot about the chemical makeup of metallic elements, as well as how to produce and purify metal, you're a metallurgy expert. In the 17th century, metallurgy was defined as "the science of smelting," or heating ore to extract metal. The word derives from Greek roots metallon, "metal," and ergon, "work." Working with metal, and having a deep understanding of its chemical properties, including how it combines with other metals to form alloys, is what metallurgy is all about.
Vocabulary lists containing metallurgy
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 3
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Early Civilizations of India, Lessons 5–7
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The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Spring
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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.
Before the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, metallurgy and mining accounted for roughly 10% of Ukraine's GDP and a third of its exports.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Her posture captures the human body in motion and archaeologists have long considered the sculpture to be of great artistic value and evidence of the civilisation's advanced knowledge of metallurgy.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
The company, Valor, is an attempt to commercialize a breakthrough in metallurgy called electrochemical liquid-liquid extraction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
The seemingly limitless power of the steam engine helped change that view, making fortunes in mining, metallurgy, brewing, and, especially, textiles.
From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026
Key hallmarks of this transition included the development of agriculture, metallurgy, complex technology, centralized government, and writing.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
