IRON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does iron mean? 

• IRON (noun)
  The noun IRON has 4 senses:

1. a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood

2. a golf club that has a relatively narrow metal head

3. implement used to brand live stock

4. home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth

  Familiarity information: IRON used as a noun is uncommon.

• IRON (adjective)
  The adjective IRON has 1 sense:

1. extremely robust

  Familiarity information: IRON used as an adjective is very rare.

• IRON (verb)
  The verb IRON has 1 sense:

1. press and smooth with a heated iron

  Familiarity information: IRON used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IRON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

atomic number 26; Fe; iron

Hypernyms ("iron" is a kind 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.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "iron"):

alpha iron (a magnetic allotrope of iron; stable below 906 degrees centigrade)

structural iron (iron that has been cast or worked in structural shapes)

scrap iron (iron to be melted again and reworked)

pig iron (crude iron tapped from a blast furnace)

galvanized iron (iron that is coated with zinc to protect it from rust)

wrought iron (iron having a low carbon content that is tough and malleable and so can be forged and welded)

cast iron (an alloy of iron containing so much carbon that it is brittle and so cannot be wrought but must be shaped by casting)

ingot iron (iron of high purity)

delta iron (an allotrope of iron that is stable between 1403 degrees centigrade and the melting point (= 1532 degrees))

gamma iron (a nonmagnetic allotrope of iron that is the basis of austenite; stable between 906 and 1403 degrees centigrade)

beta iron (an allotrope of iron that is the same as alpha iron except that it is nonmagnetic; stable between 768 and 906 degrees centigrade)

Holonyms ("iron" is a substance of...):

steel (an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range)

iron ore (an ore from which iron can be extracted)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A golf club that has a relatively narrow metal head

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("iron" is a kind of...):

club; golf-club; golf club; golfclub (golf equipment used by a golfer to hit a golf ball)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "iron"):

niblick; nine iron (an iron with considerable loft)

wedge ((golf) an iron with considerable loft and a broad sole)

short iron (an iron with a short shaft and pitched face; for hitting short high shots)

putter; putting iron (the iron normally used on the putting green)

midiron; two iron (long iron with a nearly vertical face)

mashie niblick; seven iron (iron with a lofted face for hitting high shots to the green)

five iron; mashie (middle-distance iron)

long iron (an iron with a long shaft and a steep face; for hitting long low shots)

driving iron; one iron ((golf) the long iron with the most nearly vertical face)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Implement used to brand live stock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

branding iron; iron

Hypernyms ("iron" is a kind of...):

implement (instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

iron; smoothing iron

Hypernyms ("iron" is a kind of...):

home appliance; household appliance (an appliance that does a particular job in the home)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "iron"):

gauffer; gauffering iron; goffer; goffering iron (an iron used to press pleats and ridges)

steam iron (a pressing iron that can emit steam)

travel iron (a small lightweight iron that can be carried while traveling)

flatiron (an iron that was heated by placing it on a stove)

Derivation:

iron (press and smooth with a heated iron)

• IRON (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Extremely robust

Synonyms:

cast-iron; iron

Context example:

an iron constitution

Similar:

robust (sturdy and strong in form, constitution, or construction)

• IRON (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they iron    ... he / she / it irons   
Past simple: ironed   
Past participle: ironed   
-ing form: ironing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Press and smooth with a heated iron

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

iron; iron out; press

Context example:

she stood there ironing

Hypernyms (to "iron" is one way to...):

press (place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure)

"Iron" entails doing...:

heat; heat up (make hot or hotter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "iron"):

mangle (press with a mangle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They iron the cape

Derivation:

iron (home appliance consisting of a flat metal base that is heated and used to smooth cloth)

ironing (the work of using heat to smooth washed clothes in order to remove any wrinkles)

ironing (garments (clothes or linens) that are to be (or have been) ironed)

 Context examples 

They wept over the miseries of the past and over the miseries yet to come under the iron rule of Wolf Larsen.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

"Molten" refers to the electrolyte, which is mixed with reactants for iron, carbon or vanadium boride, then heated until the mixture becomes liquid.

(New, high-energy rechargeable batteries, NSF)

In a hard and warlike time he was celebrate that he have more iron nerve, more subtle brain, more braver heart, than any man.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Also, it is made of iron, this boat, and yet does it not sink.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Bending down, he thrust his great fingers under it, and with a heave raised the whole mass of wood and iron from its hinges.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A single portion of fish could provide half of a child’s recommended dose of iron and zinc, and nearly all the calcium it needs.

(Fairer fish trade could fix nutrient deficiencies in coastal countries, SciDev.Net)

The most common cause of anemia is not having enough iron. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin.

(Anemia, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Malaria parasites contain large amounts of heme-iron, a product from the digestion of hemoglobin.

(Artemisinin Dimer, NCI Thesaurus)

There was, as I had noticed on my first visit long ago, an iron safe in the room. The key was in it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Men felt these muscles and proclaimed them hard as iron, and the odds went down to two to one.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)