Meaning & use
steel gray
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Meanings
noununcountable
A dark, slightly bluish gray with a cool, metallic look, like polished steel.
Grammar: Used without a when naming the color: the walls were painted steel gray.
Patterns
- painted steel gray
- in steel gray
The walls were painted steel gray to give the office a modern feel.
She chose steel gray for the new sofa.
The sedan comes in black, white and steel gray.
adjectivebefore a noun
Having a dark, bluish, metallic gray color.
Grammar: Written steel-gray before a noun: a steel-gray sky.
Patterns
- steel-gray something
A steel-gray sky hung over the harbor.
He wore a steel-gray suit and a white shirt.
The ship was steel gray against the dark water.
Common combinations
- steel-gray eyes
- The detective had cold steel-gray eyes.
- steel-gray sky
- A steel-gray sky promised rain.
- steel-gray suit
- He arrived in a steel-gray suit.
- painted steel gray
- The door was painted steel gray.
- steel gray metallic finish
- The car has a steel gray metallic finish.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slate
- Slate is a darker gray often with a hint of blue-green, while steel gray is lighter and more metallic.
- charcoal
- Charcoal is a very dark gray close to black and has no bluish tint like steel gray.
- gunmetal
- Gunmetal is darker and usually more shiny than steel gray.
- silver
- Silver is lighter and brighter than steel gray.
Word family
Commonly confused: steel gray or gray vs. grey?
steel gray vs gray vs. grey
Gray is the usual American spelling, and grey is the usual British one; both mean the same.
Practice
Steel gray is best described as ___.
Choose one answer.
Steel gray is a dark bluish gray that resembles the metal. The other options name different colors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “steel gray”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.