noun
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courage; spirit
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inherent character
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roused to putting forth one's best efforts
Etymology
Origin of mettle
1575–85; spelling variant of metal, in metaphoric usages
Explanation
Mettle is the courage to carry on. If someone wants to "test your mettle," they want to see if you have the heart to follow through when the going gets tough. Having the mettle to do something means you have guts. In short, you're a pretty impressive person. If you have the intellectual mettle to enter a political debate, not only do you know a lot about politics, but you have the spunk to show it off. Metal and mettle were once used interchangeably meaning a solid material like gold and the "stuff a person is made of" — until everyone got confused and the words went their separate ways.
Vocabulary lists containing mettle
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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.
In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC to mark the publication of his autobiography, Mettle, Sir David said he regretted his decisions and said sorry to fans and club staff.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2025
During his train ride to Kyiv, Blinken also held talks with Danish Prime Minister Mettle Fredericks, who was visiting the same day.
From Reuters • Sep. 6, 2023
The first time Katie Mettle ever picked her own crab, she was 27 years old.
From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2019
Season two’s Mettle initially seems like a flashy mash-up of Fight Club and Robot Wars starring Tim, Mike and their rusty champion TFU.
From The Guardian • Feb. 8, 2016
There are no trickes, in plaine and simple Faith: But hollow men, like Horses hot at hand, Make gallant shew, and promise of their Mettle: Low March within.
From Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, William
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.
