noble metal

American  

noun

1. any of a number of metals, as gold, silver, mercury, or platinum, that resist oxidation when heated in air, and solution by inorganic acids.

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Etymology

Origin of noble metal

1350–1400; Middle English: precious metal

Example Sentences

"It thus offers a powerful and sustainable alternative to the noble metal complexes that have long dominated light-driven chemistry."

From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025

Such strong cultural affinity for physical gold, particularly jewellery, means the appetite for the noble metal is unlikely to be dented in the long term, despite the short-term moderation, say experts.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025

Mixing the magnetic metal nickel with the noble metal gold radically changes the electronic properties.

From Science Daily • Sep. 18, 2023

The process won't inspire a new gold rush, because scaling it up would be both prohibitively expensive and time-consuming, but it does have implications for the creation, detection and processing of this noble metal.

From Nature • Mar. 13, 2013

Wear this in remembrance of me, and may our friendship ever remain as pure and true as this noble metal!

From Barbarossa; An Historical Novel of the XII Century. by Bolanden, Conrad von