Meaning & use
Italian brass
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
A brass alloy, or brassware made in Italy, especially the yellow copper-and-zinc metal used for fittings, ornaments and hardware.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means the metal: you cannot say 'two Italian brasses' for two pieces of metal.
Patterns
- Italian brass fittings
- made of Italian brass
- polished Italian brass
The door handles are solid Italian brass, so they keep their shine for years.
She bought a set of Italian brass fittings for the old kitchen cupboards.
Italian brass is prized by restorers because it ages to a warm, honey color.
noununcountabletechnical
Decorative objects or hardware made from this alloy, sold as a group.
Grammar: Still uncountable as a trade category: 'a piece of Italian brass', not 'an Italian brass'.
Patterns
- a piece of Italian brass
- sell Italian brass
- collect Italian brass
The shop specializes in Italian brass, from candlesticks to door knockers.
Collectors pay high prices for nineteenth-century Italian brass.
Common combinations
- solid Italian brass
- The plaque is solid Italian brass, not a cheap imitation.
- polished Italian brass
- He spent the afternoon cleaning the polished Italian brass rail.
- Italian brass fittings
- The bathroom was refitted with Italian brass fittings.
- made of Italian brass
- The lamp base is made of Italian brass.
- Italian brass hardware
- Builders often choose Italian brass hardware for period homes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- brass
- The general word for the copper-and-zinc alloy; 'Italian brass' only adds that the metal or the goods come from Italy.
- brassware
- Refers to finished objects made of brass, whereas 'Italian brass' can mean either the raw metal or the objects.
- bronze
- A different copper alloy, made with tin rather than zinc, and usually darker in color.
Word family
Commonly confused: Italian brass or brass? Italian brass or brassie?
Italian brass vs brass
Do not drop 'Italian' if you mean the metal from Italy; plain 'brass' is the general alloy from anywhere.
Italian brass vs brassie
A 'brassie' is an old golf club, not a metal, and the two words sound similar but mean very different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Italian brass' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Italian brass' is uncountable when it names the metal, so it takes no article and no plural: 'Italian brass fittings' is correct. 'An Italian brass' and 'Italian brasses' wrongly treat the metal as a countable noun, and 'many Italian brass' uses a plural quantifier with an uncountable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Italian brass”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.