noun / adjective

brass

BRASS/bræs/

A yellow alloy principally of copper and zinc.

The polished brass doorknob shines with a warm yellow color.

A polished yellow brass door handle and a brass gear lie beside a larger reddish copper sample and a smaller silvery zinc sample on a metalworking bench. Emphasize the finished yellow alloy.

Etymology

Old English bræs covered copper alloys generally, including what we now call bronze. The modern meaning narrows this older category to copper mixed mainly with zinc; the ancestor's own origin remains unknown.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain271:16

powder rammed into a hollow tube of brass or iron according to its bigness would drive a ball of iron or lead

1700s Satire: Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels (Audiobook)

More examples

The band has a powerful brass section.
A brass plate marks the entrance.
The proposal needs approval from the top brass.

Forms

brass · brasses

Similar words

bronze: Bronze is chiefly copper and tin; brass is chiefly copper and zinc.