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
1 American
[sil-ver]
/ ˈsɪl vər /
noun
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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.
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coin made of this metal; specie; money.
a handful of silver.
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this metal as a commodity or considered as a currency standard.
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table articles made of or plated with silver, including flatware and hollowware.
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any flatware.
The kitchen silver is of stainless steel.
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something resembling this metal in color, luster, etc.
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a lustrous grayish white or whitish gray, or the color of the metal.
the silver of the leaves.
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any of the silver halides used for photographic purposes, as silver bromide, silver chloride, or silver iodide.
adjective
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consisting of, made of, or plated with silver.
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of or relating to silver.
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producing or yielding silver.
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resembling silver; silvery.
the silver moon.
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clear and soft.
silver sounds.
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eloquent; persuasive.
a silver tongue.
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urging the use of silver as a currency standard.
silver economists.
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indicating the twenty-fifth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.
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having the color silver.
a silver dress.
verb (used with object)
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silvers,
present (3rd person singular)
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silvered,
past participle, past
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silvering
present participle
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to coat with silver or some silverlike substance.
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to give a silvery color to.
verb (used without object)
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silvers,
present (3rd person singular)
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silvered,
past participle, past
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silvering
present participle
Silver
2
American
[sil-ver]
/ ˈsɪl vər /
noun
silver
British
/ ˈsɪlvə /
noun
-
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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
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( as modifier )
a silver coin
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coin made of, or having the appearance of, this metal
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cutlery, whether made of silver or not
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any household articles made of silver
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photog any of a number of silver compounds used either as photosensitive substances in emulsions or as sensitizers
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a brilliant or light greyish-white colour
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( as adjective )
silver hair
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short for silver medal
adjective
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well-articulated
silver speech
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(prenominal) denoting the 25th in a series, esp an annual series
a silver wedding anniversary
verb
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(tr) to coat with silver or a silvery substance
to silver a spoon
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to become or cause to become silvery in colour
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to become or cause to become elderly
silver
Scientific
/ sĭl′vər /
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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.
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See also sterling silver See Periodic Table See Note at element
silver
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsilvernoun
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silverernoun
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silveringnoun
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silvernessnoun
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resilververb (used with object)
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silverishadjective
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silverlessadjective
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silverlikeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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silversimple
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silverssimple
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have silveredperfect
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has silveredperfect
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am silveringprogressive
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are silveringprogressive
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is silveringprogressive
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have been silveringperfect progressive
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has been silveringperfect progressive
Past
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silveredsimple
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had silveredperfect
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was silveringprogressive
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were silveringprogressive
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had been silveringperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing silver
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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White
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Black and Gray
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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.
See Examples For:
“There is no silver bullet, and you can’t beat geography.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
A female cyclist from Afghanistan who previously disguised herself as a man when chasing a career in the sport has won a silver medal at the Asian Games.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Sokol is a chatty silver fox in a champagne-hued suit, a veteran problem solver in his specific niche of queer nightlife in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
One silver lining is stifled cyclones in the North Atlantic as warm air rising off the Pacific generates high-altitude winds that blow east toward the tropical Atlantic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But as he watched, there rose from the water a herd of horses; horses with long tails and fins, colored silver and sea-green, leaping like dolphins from the water.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Silver Lake and Icahn already have a tortured history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
But in March 2026, a bone washed up on Centerville Beach, about 20 miles south of where the Silver Spray crashed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
In 2013, Silver Lake teamed up with Michael Dell to take his computer company private for $25 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
In essence, Endeavor and Silver Lake argue the investors are interlopers who shouldn’t have a voice in the appraisal fight because they bought after the deal was agreed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
“Marlena said Silver Star was off,” says August.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Golds, silvers and bronzes won in Para-events will, unlike with other multi-sport events, count towards the overall medal total.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
After four holes, one of the other golfers who had been struggling joined me at the silvers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Russia topped the medal table with 13 golds, 13 silvers and seven bronzes, while Mexico and Mongolia competed at a Winter Paralympics for the first time.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
She was asked by reporters whether she assessed her two completed competitions as two silvers won or two golds lost.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
Two hundred silvers is a drop in the bucket for him.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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
One high status woman in her 20s with mixed ancestry was laid to rest near modern Cambridge under a prominent mound with silvered jewelry, amber beads, and a whole cow.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 21, 2022
When dressed, I sat a long time by the window looking out over the silent grounds and silvered fields and waiting for I knew not what.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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
They looked out over the pool with the afternoon sky silvering its surface.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
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.
