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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

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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

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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

“The silver lining is that there’s no silver lining,” Gorman said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Shortly afterwards, an AFP reporter saw a silver car with Najib inside leaving the Kajang Prison compound, followed by a convoy of vehicles.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Spot gold and silver jumped 2.0% and 3.3%, respectively.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

They set out with maps and lists, as Sharron navigated their silver VW SUV from address to address in a well-heeled Lawrence neighborhood.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

They came in their hundreds, silver and white and pearl.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Silver futures gain 4.15% to $51.82 an ounce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Raman, by contrast, saw a 49% reduction in unsheltered homelessness in her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

Silver added: "We continue to recognise our responsibilities as a landowner and developer and are continuing to work with the Cherwell District Council, Environment Agency and other relevant government bodies."

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league lost "hundreds of millions of dollars" over the split.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

After a while he found that he was approaching a small hollow, much like the one on Watership Down where he and Silver had found Kehaar.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Those stunning silvers followed the toughest period of his life, but he put three years of "absolute hell" behind him to win world bronze in 2022 as he re-established himself among the world's best.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 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

But Gu, who now has three Olympic golds and three silvers in total, produced a dazzling performance in the second round to wow the judges.

From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026

Dale replied he’d had just about enough of setting by the shipping lane in soup fog for a dozen silvers, a few dogfish, a couple of hake, and what’s more taking flack off his radio.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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

The Giantslayer and his mount were armored in silvered steel inlaid with niello.

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

It may have been 44 years ago, but how does a Milwaukeean of a certain, silvering age not remember the last time the Brewers were in the World Series?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

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

A typical example: “The moon is a sickled leopard’s tooth pinned to obsidian, its light silvering the violent undulations scoring the skin of your unforgiving water.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2016

They looked out over the pool with the afternoon sky silvering its surface.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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Related Words

• bright
• silvery
• white

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