Meaning & use
enamel
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Meanings
noununcountable
The hard, shiny white outer layer that covers and protects your teeth.
Grammar: Used without 'a' or a plural: enamel is a material, like 'gold' or 'glass'.
Patterns
- tooth enamel
- enamel on a tooth
Brushing twice a day helps protect your tooth enamel.
Acidic drinks can slowly wear away the enamel on your teeth.
noununcountable
A hard, glossy, colored coating baked onto metal, glass, or pottery for decoration or protection.
Grammar: Also uncountable when it means the coating material; it can be countable when it means a particular piece made with it, as in 'a collection of enamels'.
Patterns
- enamel on something
- a coat of enamel
The old cooking pot was covered in bright blue enamel.
She collects jewelry decorated with enamel.
noununcountable
A very hard, smooth paint that dries to a glossy finish, used on wood, metal, or models.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: 'enamel paint', 'enamel finish'.
Patterns
- enamel paint
- paint something with enamel
He painted the model car with red enamel.
This enamel gives the table a tough, shiny surface.
Common combinations
- tooth enamel
- Sugary snacks are bad for your tooth enamel.
- enamel paint
- Use enamel paint for a hard, glossy finish.
- enamel jewelry
- She wore a small piece of enamel jewelry on her jacket.
- wear away the enamel
- Frequent brushing with a hard brush can wear away the enamel.
- enamel coating
- The pan has a black enamel coating.
Synonyms and how they differ
- glaze
- A glaze is a similar shiny coating, but it is usually on pottery or food, not on teeth or metal.
- varnish
- Varnish is a clear, protective coating for wood; enamel is thicker, often colored, and much harder.
- lacquer
- Lacquer dries very fast and is often clear or sprayed on; enamel is baked or brushed on and is more durable.
Word family
- enameled adjective
- Covered with enamel, as in 'an enameled bowl'.
- enameling noun
- The craft or process of coating something with enamel.
Commonly confused: enamel or amel?
enamel vs amel
Not a common English word; learners sometimes mishear 'enamel' because the first syllable is weak.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'enamel' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Enamel' is the hard outer layer of teeth, so it fits with 'dentist'. 'Enamel' is not used for wooden floors (that's varnish), you don't 'enamel' a letter, and a broken 'enamel' is not a common way to talk about a health problem.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “enamel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.