copper

/ˈkɑpər/

/ˈkɒpə/

Other forms: coppers; coppered; coppering

Copper is a reddish-gold colored metal that's commonly used in electrical wires and plumbing. Your grandmother might make her famous chocolate caramel sauce in a shiny copper pot.

Before 1983, pennies were 95 percent copper. Today, they're almost entirely zinc (a less expensive metal), coated with a thin copper plating. They look the same, but the older coins are quite a bit heavier. Copper is a good conductor of heat and electricity, which is why it's used for both fancy cookware and wires. You can also use copper for things that have a similar color: "His copper curls make him stand out from the other choir members."

Definitions of copper

1. noun

   a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
   synonyms: Cu, atomic number 29

   types:

   blister copper

   an impure form of copper having a black blistered surface

   type of:

   metal, metallic element

   any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.

   conductor

   a substance that readily conducts e.g. electricity and heat
2. noun

   a copper penny
   type of:

   cent, centime, penny

   a coin worth one-hundredth of the value of the basic unit
3. verb

   coat with a layer of copper
   type of:

   coat, surface

   put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface
4. noun

   a reddish-brown color resembling the color of polished copper
   synonyms: copper color

   type of:

   Venetian red, burnt sienna, mahogany, reddish brown, sepia

   a shade of brown with a tinge of red
5. noun

   any of various small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae having coppery wings
   types:

   American copper, Lycaena hypophlaeas

   common copper butterfly of central and eastern North America

   type of:

   lycaenid, lycaenid butterfly

   any of various butterflies of the family Lycaenidae
6. noun

   uncomplimentary terms for a policeman
   synonyms: bull, cop, fuzz, pig

   type of:

   officer, police officer, policeman

   a member of a police force