Meaning & use
precious metal
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A rare, valuable metal such as gold, silver or platinum, used for jewelry, coins and investment.
Grammar: Plural is precious metals.
Patterns
- invest in precious metals
Gold is the best known precious metal.
The ring is made of a precious metal.
Many investors buy precious metals when markets are uncertain.
nouncountabletechnical
A metal valued for its use in industry, such as platinum in catalytic converters.
Grammar: Industrial use sense.
Patterns
- precious metals in electronics
Phones contain small amounts of precious metals.
Recyclers recover precious metals from old circuit boards.
Palladium is a precious metal used in cars.
Word forms
| plural | precious metals |
|---|
Common combinations
- invest in precious metals
- He decided to invest in precious metals.
- precious metal jewelry
- The shop sells precious metal jewelry.
- mine precious metals
- The company mines precious metals in the hills.
- price of precious metals
- The price of precious metals rose last week.
- recycle precious metals
- Factories recycle precious metals from electronics.
Synonyms and how they differ
- noble metal
- Noble metal is a chemical term for metals that resist corrosion, and not all are valuable.
- bullion
- Bullion is gold or silver in bars, not jewelry.
- base metal
- Base metal is the opposite, a common cheap metal such as iron.
- gold
- Gold is a single precious metal, whereas precious metal is the category.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: precious metal or precious stone?
precious metal vs precious stone
Precious stones such as diamonds are minerals, not metals.
Practice
Which of these is a precious metal?
Choose one answer.
Platinum is a rare, valuable metal. Iron, tin and zinc are common base metals.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “precious metal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.