From French bronze (1511); from Italian bronzo (13th c.), of uncertain origin (q.v.). First use appears c. 1721 in the writings of Matthew Prior (for which, see citation below).
Meanings
Made of bronze metal.
The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door. 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
Having a reddish-brown colour.
(of the skin) Tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun.
That girl was dynamite. Dark hair with killer blue eyes, bronze skin, and an exquisite full-figured body. 2016, Kit Moulton, Annabella, page 108:
pt bronzeado (having a bronze colour) · cmn 青銅色的 /青铜色的 (having a bronze colour) · es bronceo (having a bronze colour) · vo bronsötik (made of bronze) · mi rauwhero (having a bronze colour) · da bronze- (made of bronze) · es bronceado (having a bronze colour) · es tostado (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · it bronzeo (having a bronze colour) · ms gangsa (having a bronze colour) · fr tanné (par le soleil) (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · uk бро́нзовий (made of bronze) · no bronsefarget (having a bronze colour) · pt bronzeado (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · es broncíneo (having a bronze colour) · nl bronskleurig (having a bronze colour) · pt brônzeo (having a bronze colour) · de bronzen (having a bronze colour) · ja 青銅色の (having a bronze colour) · el μπρούτζινος (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · sv bronsfärgad (having a bronze colour) · el μπρούτζινος (made of bronze) · ru бро́нзовый (made of bronze) · fr bronzé (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · es bronceado (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · fr hâlé (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · el χάλκινος (made of bronze) · vo bronsötakölik (having a bronze colour) · fi pronssinruskea (having a bronze colour) · pl brązowy (made of bronze) · it bronzeo (made of bronze) · fi ruskettunut (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · ja ブロンズ製の (made of bronze) · cmn 青銅製的 /青铜制的 (made of bronze) · ja 青銅製の (made of bronze) · ja ブロンズ色の (having a bronze colour) · cs bronzový (made of bronze) · ro bronzat (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · it abbronzato (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · cs bronzový (having a bronze colour) · es brónceo (made of bronze) · es broncíneo (made of bronze) · el μπρούντζινος (made of bronze) · sk bronzový (having a bronze colour) · hrx bronze (made of bronze) · ms gangsa (made of bronze) · el μπρούντζινος (tanned; darkened as a result of exposure to the sun) · es brónceo (having a bronze colour) · sl bronast (made of bronze) · ca bronze (having a bronze colour) · fi pronssinen (made of bronze) · pt bronze (having a bronze colour) · mi kōuraura (having a bronze colour) · uk бро́нзовий (having a bronze colour) · bg бронзов (made of bronze) · sl bronast (having a bronze colour) · pl brązowy (having a bronze colour) · da bronzefarvet (having a bronze colour) · es bronceo (made of bronze) · nl bronzen (made of bronze) · sk bronzový (made of bronze) · fi pronssinvärinen (having a bronze colour) · es éneo (made of bronze) · de bronzen (made of bronze) · pt brônzeo (made of bronze)
From French bronze (1511); from Italian bronzo (13th c.), of uncertain origin (q.v.). First use appears c. 1721 in the writings of Matthew Prior (for which, see citation below).
Meanings
(uncountable) A naturally occurring or man-made alloy of copper, usually in combination with tin, but also with one or more other metals.
How little gives thee joy or pain; A print, a bronze, a flower, a root. 1720, Matthew Prior, Poems on Several Occasions, page 339:
(countable, uncountable) A reddish-brown colour, the colour of bronze.
Speaking of round sunglasses, these lightweight polarized ones and come in two shades of tortoiseshell as well as black and bronze. 2023 June 26, Lauren Caruso and Jillian Tracy, “The 22 best sunglasses for summer, according to style experts”, in CNN, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2025:
(countable) A work of art made of bronze, especially a sculpture.
"This is very good," he continued, addressing himself to the bronze again. "How ever did he do it?"
"With his hands."
"Naturally. But, I mean, how did he study his model?" 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
On the mantelshelf either side of the clock stood two lacquered bronzes of horse and tamer. 1998, Derek Beaven, chapter 9, in Acts of Mutiny, London: Fourth Estate, →ISBN, part 1 (Motion), page 34:
(countable, uncountable) A bronze medal; third place.
She wanted to win the tournament, but had to settle for the bronze after being beaten in the semi-finals.
(countable, uncountable) Boldness; impudence.
Embrown'd with native bronze, lo! Henley stands. 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
From French bronze (1511); from Italian bronzo (13th c.), of uncertain origin (q.v.). First use appears c. 1721 in the writings of Matthew Prior (for which, see citation below).
Meanings
(transitive) To plate with bronze.
My mother bronzed my first pair of baby shoes.
(transitive) To color bronze; (of the sun) to tan.
The sun was so low that its level rays shot through the tunnels of the forest and bronzed its ceiling of woven leaves when Bess returned to the clearing. 1925, DuBose Heyward, Porgy, London: Jonathan Cape, Part IV, p. 137:
North is the bay of Acre, lovely in shape, and, far, far beyond, the cloudy vision of Hermon, its huge landscape now only attainable with a police pass—beautifully solitary except for good-looking young men of the police patrols, all fit and bronzed. 1961, Freya Stark, chapter 8, in Dust in the Lion's Paw: Autobiography 1939-1946, New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, page 122:
(intransitive, of the skin) To change to a bronze or tan colour due to exposure to the sun.
His skin began to bronze as he worked in our garden each day. 2006, Melissa Lassor, “Out of Darkness”, in Watching Time, page 124:
(transitive) To make hard or unfeeling; to brazen.
the lawyer who bronzes his bosom instead of his forehead 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
(intransitive) To finish in third place; to win a bronze medal.
Louganis' runner-up count was 822.09, and Boggs bronzed at 783.78. 1979, Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, AAU News:
Rauch plays has-been athlete Hope Ann Greggory, who bronzed at the Olympics by prevailing over a performance-incurred injury that would later effectively end her career. 2016 March 17, Andrew Lapin, “'The Bronze' Is The Story Of A Mighty, Nasty Gymnast”, in NPR:
Her speedskating teammate, Leah Poulos, captured a 1000m silver in 1976, behind Tatiana Averina of the Soviet Union, who also took the gold in the 3000m and bronzed in the 500m and the 1500m. 1992, Martin Connors, Diane L. Dupuis, Brad Morgan, The Olympics Factbook: A Spectator's Guide to the Winter and Summer Games, Visible Ink Press:
vo bronsötakölön (to color bronze) · no bronsere (to plate with bronze) · fi pronssata (to color bronze) · es empavonar (to plate with bronze) · bg бронзирам (to plate with bronze) · fi pronssata (to plate with bronze) · no bronse (to color bronze) · da bronzere (to color bronze) · no bronse (to plate with bronze) · no bronsere (to color bronze) · da bronzere (to plate with bronze) · es pavonar (to plate with bronze) · es broncear (to color bronze) · ro bronza (to plate with bronze)