Meaning & use
sterling silver
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
A silver alloy that is 92.5 percent pure silver, used for jewelry, cutlery and coins.
Grammar: No plural and no article: 'made of sterling silver', not 'a sterling silver'.
Patterns
- be made of sterling silver
- a sterling silver ring
The necklace is made of sterling silver.
She collects antique sterling silver from the 1920s.
Sterling silver is harder than pure silver, so it keeps its shape better.
adjectivebefore a noun
Made of sterling silver.
Grammar: Comes before the noun: 'a sterling silver bracelet'. Not used after 'be' in this sense.
Patterns
- a sterling silver something
He gave her a sterling silver bracelet for their anniversary.
The shop sells sterling silver earrings and rings.
Common combinations
- solid sterling silver
- This ring is solid sterling silver, not plated.
- sterling silver jewelry
- The store specializes in sterling silver jewelry.
- polish sterling silver
- Use a soft cloth to polish sterling silver.
- sterling silver flatware
- The wedding gift was a set of sterling silver flatware.
Synonyms and how they differ
- silver
- Broader: it can mean the pure metal or anything silver-colored, while 'sterling silver' is the specific 92.5 percent alloy.
- fine silver
- Means silver that is at least 99.9 percent pure, so it is softer than sterling silver.
Word family
- sterling noun
- Short form for the same alloy, common in British English.
Commonly confused: sterling silver or silver plate?
sterling silver vs silver plate
Silver plate is a thin layer of silver over another metal, so it is much cheaper and less valuable than sterling silver.
Practice
The earrings are made of ______.
Choose one answer.
'Sterling silver' is an uncountable material noun, so it takes no article and no plural: 'made of sterling silver'. 'A sterling silver' wrongly treats it as countable, and 'sterling silvers' wrongly adds a plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sterling silver”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.