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Added 8 October 2026

iron

/ˈaɪ.ən/ noun

Categories: NatureThingsEveryday Words

In Latin: ferrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about iron at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel: a chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe.
    Today we studied about metals — including iron — at school.
  2. Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.
  3. A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus.

adjective

  1. Made of the metal iron.
  2. Strong , inflexible.
    She had an iron will.

verb

  1. To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases.
    You'd be wise to iron that shirt before you wear it.
  2. To engage in such pressing of clothing.
    They were washing and ironing all morning.
  3. To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff.

Origin

From Middle English iren, from Old English īsern, īsærn, īren, īsen, from Proto-West Germanic *īsarn, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną (“iron”), from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom (“iron”), possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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