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• silver
  silver

  noun

  a white, ductile metallic element, used for making mirrors, coins, ornaments, table utensils, photographic chemicals, conductors, etc. Ag; 107.870; 47; 10.5 at 20°C.
• Silver
  Silver

  noun

  Abba Hillel 1893–1963, U.S. rabbi, born in Lithuania.

silver

¹ American  

[sil-ver] / ˈsɪl vər /

noun

1. Chemistry. a white, ductile metallic element, used for making mirrors, coins, ornaments, table utensils, photographic chemicals, conductors, etc. Ag; 107.870; 47; 10.5 at 20°C.

2. coin made of this metal; specie; money.

   a handful of silver.

3. this metal as a commodity or considered as a currency standard.

4. table articles made of or plated with silver, including flatware and hollowware.

5. any flatware.

   The kitchen silver is of stainless steel.

6. something resembling this metal in color, luster, etc.

7. a lustrous grayish white or whitish gray, or the color of the metal.

   the silver of the leaves.

8. any of the silver halides used for photographic purposes, as silver bromide, silver chloride, or silver iodide.

9. silver medal.

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adjective

1. consisting of, made of, or plated with silver.

2. of or relating to silver.

3. producing or yielding silver.

4. resembling silver; silvery.

   the silver moon.

5. clear and soft.

   silver sounds.

6. eloquent; persuasive.

   a silver tongue.

7. urging the use of silver as a currency standard.

   silver economists.

8. indicating the twenty-fifth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

9. having the color silver.

   a silver dress.

verb (used with object)

• silvers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• silvered,
  past participle,  past
• silvering
  present participle

1. to coat with silver or some silverlike substance.

2. to give a silvery color to.

verb (used without object)

• silvers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• silvered,
  past participle,  past
• silvering
  present participle

1. to become a silvery color.

Silver ² American  

[sil-ver] / ˈsɪl vər /

noun

1. Abba Hillel 1893–1963, U.S. rabbi, born in Lithuania.

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silver British  

/ ˈsɪlvə /

noun

1. 1. a very ductile malleable brilliant greyish-white element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. It occurs free and in argentite and other ores: used in jewellery, tableware, coinage, electrical contacts, and in electroplating. Its compounds are used in photography. Symbol: Ag; atomic no: 47; atomic wt: 107.8682; valency: 1 or 2; relative density: 10.50; melting pt: 961.93°C; boiling pt: 2163°C

   2. ( as modifier )

      a silver coin

2. coin made of, or having the appearance of, this metal

3. cutlery, whether made of silver or not

4. any household articles made of silver

5. photog any of a number of silver compounds used either as photosensitive substances in emulsions or as sensitizers

6. 1. a brilliant or light greyish-white colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      silver hair

7. short for silver medal

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adjective

1. well-articulated

   silver speech

2. (prenominal) denoting the 25th in a series, esp an annual series

   a silver wedding anniversary

verb

1. (tr) to coat with silver or a silvery substance

   to silver a spoon

2. to become or cause to become silvery in colour

3. to become or cause to become elderly

silver Scientific  

/ sĭl′vər /

1. A soft, shiny, white metallic element that is found in many ores, especially together with copper, lead, and zinc. It conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal. Silver is used in photography and in making electrical circuits and conductors. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 960.8°C; boiling point 2,212°C; specific gravity 10.50; valence 1, 2.

2. See also sterling silver See Periodic Table See Note at element

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silver Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing silver

• born with a silver spoon
• cross someone's palm with silver
• hand to on a silver platter

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsilver
  noun
• silverer
  noun
• silvering
  noun
• silverness
  noun
• resilver
  verb (used with object)
• silverish
  adjective
• silverless
  adjective
• silverlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• silvering
  present
• silvered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• silver
  simple
• silvers
  simple
• have silvered
  perfect
• has silvered
  perfect
• am silvering
  progressive
• are silvering
  progressive
• is silvering
  progressive
• have been silvering
  perfect progressive
• has been silvering
  perfect progressive

Past

• silvered
  simple
• had silvered
  perfect
• was silvering
  progressive
• were silvering
  progressive
• had been silvering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will silver
  simple
• will have silvered
  perfect
• will be silvering
  progressive
• will have been silvering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of silver

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun and adjective) silver(e), selver(e), selfer, Old English siolfor (originally a noun); cognate with German Silber, Old Norse silfr, Gothic silubr, akin to Serbo-Croatian srèbro, Russian serebró, Lithuanian sidãbras

Explanation

The shiny precious metal that's used for jewelry, spoons and forks, and fancy candlesticks is silver. You can also use the word silver to describe things that are the same color as silver. There are silver bracelets and silver coins, but also silver hair and a silver sky. The element known to scientists as Ag, or silver, is rare and valuable, and was once used to make money. Today many coins are silver in color, but they're usually made of nickel and copper. If you believe that every terrible event has a hopeful or encouraging aspect to it, you might say, "Every cloud has a silver lining."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

silver Silver silvers silvered silvering

He planned to buy undervalued Morgan silver dollars—iconic coins with a buzzing collector market—get them professionally graded and flip them for profit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Preschoolers run across the grass, their play area divided by a silver chain-link fence from the rest of the campus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

The mint also uses recycled silver, some of it extracted from old radios supplied by British hospitals.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Ross showcased several glamorous outfits, first donning a silver sequinned gown and white feather boa, then a sparkly red dress with ruffles and, lastly, a neon yellow raincoat with black trousers and top.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Mine is empty, the purple remnants of huckleberry shake congealing on the silver spoon.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Sophia Silver met her boyfriend on Known in April after telling the app’s matchmaker—an AI voice agent—that she was looking for someone with a healthy work-life balance, among other qualities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

So it makes sense that now, as a wellness writer, I became intrigued by Body Dada, a barre fitness studio with locations in Highland Park and Silver Lake.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

A version of this episode won the Silver Rose at Montreux TV Festival in 1972.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

NBA boss Adam Silver is stamping a slender foot like Bugs Bunny.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

“Before you go, do you mind telling me why Gretchen Silver wants to see Vivian?”

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

The 24-year-old, who has 11 international medals, has also been denied in her three attempts to win world gold outdoors, achieving two silvers and one bronze.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026

Following her second-placed finish in the big air event on Monday, AFP asked her in a press conference whether she considered it "two silvers gained or two golds lost".

From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026

She’d racked up three silvers and two bronzes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026

Knight, who powered the United States into Monday’s Olympic semifinal, is one of the most accomplished female hockey players in the world: an Olympic gold medal, three Olympic silvers and 10 world championship medals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2026

The bidding for Jorah Mormont had reached two hundred silvers.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

A little silvered glass could be worth its weight in gold.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

At 50, still in the blush of youth by today’s silvered political standards, Porter has plenty of highway ahead of her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2024

Ms Quinn said: "Daguerre developed a way of taking pictures using a polished silvered plate and a camera. This produced a single image printed directly onto a plate with astonishing clarity, named the daguerreotype."

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024

Seventeen years after the Tripod fire, the silvered trunks of dead trees still stand on many slopes.

From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023

Then he was lifted and hurled by Coach Murphy toward the infield lights, his spikes silvered with false light, and Ben came down laughing and jubilant to Coach Murphy.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

The man, who had silvering hair and wore a black Ariat quarter-zip and jeans, nodded and lowered his voice slightly.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2021

Screen Goo is highly pigmented and has a little silvering in the paint that reflects light back at lots of different angles.

From The Verge ● Feb. 24, 2020

A thickset Catholic businessman with silvering hair and bloodshot eyes, he was wearing a loose denim shirt.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 4, 2016

This will make the inside surface of the clear plastic a perfect mirror for such rays without any need for the silvering used on common mirrors.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

He wears his silvering hair short on the sides and has a rainbow friendship bracelet tied around one wrist.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Related Words

• bright
• silvery
• white