solder
Americannoun
-
solders
plural
-
any of various alloys fused and applied to the joint between metal objects to unite them without heating the objects to the melting point.
-
anything that joins or unites.
the solder of their common cause.
verb (used with object)
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solders,
present (3rd person singular)
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soldered,
past participle, past
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soldering
present participle
-
to join (metal objects) with solder.
-
to join closely and intimately.
two fates inseparably soldered by misfortune.
-
to mend; repair; patch up.
verb (used without object)
-
solders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soldered,
past participle, past
-
soldering
present participle
-
to unite things with solder.
-
to become soldered or united; grow together.
noun
-
an alloy for joining two metal surfaces by melting the alloy so that it forms a thin layer between the surfaces. Soft solders are alloys of lead and tin; brazing solders are alloys of copper and zinc
-
something that joins things together firmly; a bond
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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solderernoun
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resolderverb
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desolderverb (used with object)
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solderableadjective
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solderlessadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
soldersimple
-
solderssimple
-
have solderedperfect
-
has solderedperfect
-
am solderingprogressive
-
are solderingprogressive
-
is solderingprogressive
-
have been solderingperfect progressive
-
has been solderingperfect progressive
Past
-
solderedsimple
-
had solderedperfect
-
was solderingprogressive
-
were solderingprogressive
-
had been solderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of solder
1325–75; (noun) Middle English soudour < Old French soudure, soldure, derivative of solder to solder < Latin solidāre to make solid, equivalent to solid ( us ) solid + -āre infinitive suffix; (v.) late Middle English, derivative of the noun
Explanation
If you want to be a metalsmith you’ll have to become familiar with solder, which is the substance you use to fuse two metal surfaces. The word solder traces back to the Latin word solidare, meaning “to make solid.” That’s what you use solder for: to make something solid. In this case you are joining two metal surfaces so they appear as one solid piece. The word also has a verb form, also solder, to describe the act of joining the metal pieces. You might use solder, for example, to solder a metal piece on a computer's motherboard.
Vocabulary lists containing solder
Gold Rush: Mining and Metals
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 1
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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:
It was physically impossible to solder millions of connections by hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
“But you can’t do that with the hair. You have to build them individually and then solder them in.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
Over the past century, lead was used in paint, pipes, solder, and, most disastrously, automotive fuel.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024
Khalife didn’t give his name, but did reveal he was a serving solder.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2024
Werner’s blood gallops through his ventricles, his thoughts on Hauptmann’s transceiver, on solder, fuses, batteries, antennas; his boot and Frederick’s touch the ground at the exact same moment.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that neither federal law nor the Constitution shields military contractors if their mistakes or negligence result in solders being injured in a combat zone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
In the shade of the barracks, the solders were cleaning their Kalashnikovs.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
More often than not, organizations, educational systems, companies and other systems just want good solders who do what they're told and say nothing.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2024
He then carefully inserts the gold wire into the needle, solders it to a connector and ensures it is electrically insulated.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2023
He charms the druggist’s wife into giving him a broken earphone; he salvages a solenoid from a discarded doorbell, solders it to a resistor, and makes a loudspeaker.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Dark-fleet vessels were also found with custom-made Ethernet cables soldered to ports on AIS systems, which enabled crews to push out fake location data and mask their whereabouts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
On some models, the battery is not so easy to remove because it’s soldered to the circuit board.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024
They also created a low-cost, printed circuit board with built-in digital microfluidics, which the emitter is soldered to.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2024
I knew his name — the same soldered to the email’s sign-off — and had a vague idea of what he looked like.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2024
He salvages the inferior Soviet equipment, milled from marginal steel, clumsily soldered; it’s all so unsystematic.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
One challenge is that piezoelectric resonators physically vibrate, which means they cannot be attached to circuit boards using standard soldering techniques.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 10, 2026
Armed with a soldering iron and good intentions, Tuna paid tribute to what the fires took.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026
The term derives from the white crystalline powder used in cleaning, soldering, glass making and in pesticides, which in centuries past was sold as a cure-all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
At a hearing in Brasília, he admitted trying to open the monitor with a soldering iron on Friday until he "came to his senses", court documents show.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
He could use a soldering iron and hammer two boards together so that the wood did not split and the nails did not bend.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
