steel wool

American  

noun

1. a tangled or matted mass of stringlike steel shavings, used for scouring, polishing, smoothing, etc.

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steel wool British  

noun

1. a tangled or woven mass of fine steel fibres, used for cleaning or polishing

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Etymology

Origin of steel wool

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

steel wool

Maintenance is straightforward: The pan is dishwasher safe, metal utensil-friendly and can handle steel wool.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

His Jewish Cuban father owned a steel wool factory; his mother, a Jewish Romanian, narrowly survived the Holocaust when her family caught one of the last ships to Cuba.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

The artist often uses steel wool as a paintbrush to create tiny dots of paint, in a contemporary spin on Pointillism.

From New York Times ● May 15, 2023

The author of the post worked in the second application with superfine 0000 steel wool, but using a synthetic pad would be safer.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2023

Then he pointed at the steel wool and it flew across the floor, scrubbing and polishing so fast, the steel began to smoke.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan