stainless steel

noun

alloy steel containing 12 percent or more chromium, so as to be resistant to rust and attack from various chemicals.

Origin of stainless steel

First recorded in 1915–20

Also called stainless.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stainless steel

Contemporary Examples of stainless steel

A stainless-steel refrigerator, which normally costs more than five years' worth of Ms Peñaloza's rent, fills the cramped kitchen.
Here's How a Real Socialist Holds Power
Justin Green
October 2, 2012
When the last olives have yielded their golden oils, they are left to settle for two weeks in stainless-steel tanks.
Harvesting EVOO Down Under
Jeremy Meltzer
April 27, 2011
Finally, the wine is transferred by bucket to oak barrels or stainless-steel casks.
An Old-Fashioned Wine Harvest
Sophie Menin
October 18, 2010
For the same reason a Hummer had cost a fortune: It comes with spinning hubcaps and stainless-steel grill guards.
The Great Cabernet Ripoff
Keith Wallace
July 14, 2009
I showered and washed my hair… Each dorm had a bathroom with eight showers—vinyl-curtained, stainless-steel stalls.
First Day Out of Prison
John Forté
January 26, 2009

Historical Examples of stainless steel

There, half hidden behind a row of stainless-steel basin assemblies, was a nine-inch bowl.
Felony
James Causey
A stainless-steel capsule popped into the transparent wall dock.
The House from Nowhere
Arthur G. Stangland
About fifty feet up he could make out the smooth, stainless-steel connecting ring where the second stage joined the first.
The Scarlet Lake Mystery
Harold Leland Goodwin

British Dictionary definitions for stainless steel

stainless steel

noun

1. a type of steel resistant to corrosion as a result of the presence of large amounts of chromium (12–15 per cent). The carbon content depends on the application, being 0.2–0.4 per cent for steel used in cutlery, etc, and about 1 per cent for use in scalpels and razor blades
2. (as modifier)stainless-steel cutlery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for stainless steel

1917, a chromium-steel alloy (usually 14% chromium) used for cutlery, etc., so called because it is highly resistant to rust or tarnish.

stainless steel in Science

stainless steel

[stān′lĭs]

Any of various alloys of iron that contain chromium, nickel, and small amounts of carbon. They may also contain minor amounts of other elements, such as molybdenum. Stainless steel is resistant to rusting and corrosion.