bronze

bronze — noun

1. a hard reddish-brown metal produced by mixing copper with tin.

1.nounC2
Definition

a hard reddish-brown metal produced by mixing copper with tin.

Example

The worker poured melted bronze into a stone mould for the bell.

bronze as a material noun

Museum lights reflected off the bronze shield beside the king's sword.

Common collocations
  • bronze bell
  • bronze shield
  • bronze tools
  • made of bronze
Synonyms
  • alloy

    broader term; bronze is one particular alloy

  • metal

    much broader; use 'bronze' when the exact material matters

Grammar Patterns

made of bronze

cast in bronze

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when you mean the metal itself. Common after 'made of' or 'cast in' when naming what an object is formed from.

Common Mistakes

The bowl is made from a bronze.
The bowl is made from bronze.
use bronze as an uncountable material noun here.

2. a deep orange-brown shade with the look of old bronze.

2.nounB2
Definition

a deep orange-brown shade with the look of old bronze.

Example

The sunset turned the river a warm bronze before the storm arrived.

turn + bronze

Hana chose bronze for the kitchen wall instead of pale yellow.

choose bronze for + surface

Common collocations
  • warm bronze
  • soft bronze
  • turn bronze
  • paint something bronze
Synonyms
  • brown

    broader and less specific; bronze suggests a warmer, more metallic shade

  • copper

    often more orange and brighter than bronze

Antonyms
  • pale

    describes a much lighter colour effect

Grammar Patterns

turn bronze

paint something bronze

Usage Note

Used mainly in design, painting, and descriptions of colour change. Distinguish from adjective sense 1, which directly describes a noun: 'bronze curtains'.

Common Mistakes

She painted the door in a bronze.
She painted the door bronze.
after 'paint', bronze can act as a colour complement without an article.

3. a sculpture or similar art piece cast in bronze.

3.nounC1
Definition

a sculpture or similar art piece cast in bronze.

Example

Visitors stopped to sketch the bronze in the middle of the hall.

the bronze = bronze artwork

The gallery borrowed a bronze of a dancing horse from Rome.

a bronze of + subject

Common collocations
  • a bronze of
  • display a bronze
  • museum bronze
  • garden bronze
Synonyms
  • sculpture

    broader term; does not specify the material

  • statue

    fits human or animal figures; 'bronze' can name other art forms too

Grammar Patterns

a bronze of somebody

display a bronze

Usage Note

Countable in museum and art-writing contexts. The word often names the finished work, not just the material it is made from.

Common Mistakes

We admired bronze in the museum.
We admired a bronze in the museum.
this art sense is countable when you mean one sculpture.

4. a medal, or the third-place result it represents, in a race or contest.

4.nounC1
Definition

a medal, or the third-place result it represents, in a race or contest.

Example

Rohan won bronze in the school swim meet on Saturday.

win bronze in + event

The relay team missed silver by one second and took bronze.

take bronze

Common collocations
  • win bronze
  • take bronze
  • earn a bronze
  • bronze medal
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • gold

    the first-place medal or result

  • silver

    the second-place medal or result

Grammar Patterns

win bronze

take a bronze

Usage Note

Often uncountable after verbs like 'win', 'take', and 'earn'. Use the countable form when the physical medal itself is the focus.

Common Mistakes

She got the third bronze place.
She won bronze.
English normally says 'win bronze' or 'take third place', not 'bronze place'.

bronze — adjective

bronze — verb

Word family

  • bronzed
    adjectiveC1
  • bronzing
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bronze names a metal made mainly by mixing copper with tin, and it often suggests bells, statues, coins, or old tools. Brass is also a copper-based metal, but it is mixed with zinc and usually looks brighter and more yellow. Copper is the base metal itself, softer and redder than bronze. Steel is much stronger and more grey, so it belongs more to building, machines, and tools than to art objects. If you say 'a bronze statue', the material matters. If you say 'a steel bridge', the idea is strength. A museum may display a bronze, while a factory may order copper wire or steel beams.

bronze ↗brasscopper ↗steel ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bronze medal
  • bronze statue
  • bronze bell
  • bronze finish

Phrases

  • cast in bronze
  • win bronze

Prepositions

  • in bronze

Etymology

ItalianFrenchEnglish

English borrowed bronze through French from Italian bronzo. The word first named the metal and later spread to related ideas such as its colour, objects made from it, and the medal for third place.