zinc

zinc — noun

1. a hard, bluish-white metal that is a pure chemical element. Industries use it to

1.nounB1
Definition

a hard, bluish-white metal that is a pure chemical element. Industries use it to create alloys such as brass and to give iron or steel a protective layer that stops rust.

Example

The sheets of zinc on the shed roof had weathered to a soft grey colour.

collocation: sheets of zinc

Christopher asked why zinc is mixed with copper to create the golden alloy called brass.

Common collocations
  • zinc alloy
  • zinc coating
  • zinc oxide
  • zinc deficiency
  • sheet zinc

Common Mistakes

The garden fence is zinc.
The garden fence is coated with zinc.
Zinc is the metal itself; the fence is coated or made of it, not 'zinc' as an adjective.

zinc — verb

Word family

  • galvanize
    verbB2
  • galvanized
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four greyish metals are often confused by learners. Zinc is bluish-white and prized for rust-proofing and making brass. Tin is softer and silvery, used to coat steel inside food cans. Aluminium is lightweight, silvery, and common in aircraft and drink cans. Lead is very heavy and dense, historically used in pipes and batteries, but now limited due to toxicity. A 'zinc roof' (corrosion-resistant sheets) is not the same as a 'tin can' (steel coated with tin), nor is 'aluminium foil' the same as 'lead piping' — each metal suits a different purpose based on weight, hardness, and chemical resistance.

zinc ↗tin ↗aluminium ↗lead

Common collocations

Prepositions

  • of zinc
  • with zinc

Etymology

GermanEnglish

The name comes from the German word 'Zink', probably from 'Zinke' meaning 'prong' or 'tooth', because the metal forms jagged, tooth-like crystals as it cools in a furnace. The metal was used in ancient times, but European alchemists first identified it as a distinct metal around the 1500s.