Dictionary

cast iron en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Derived from the casting of this form of iron. See wrought iron for comparison.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Made of cast iron.
   • I use a cast iron skillet for frying pancakes.
   • The old black cast iron skillet is an important part of the batterie de cuisine. 1979 May 14, Ernest Gueymard, “Louisiana's Creole-Acadian Cuisine”, in Renaud S. Albert, editor, A Franco-American Overview, volume 1, →ISBN, page 295:
   • Various forms of conductors have been invented, such as wooden and iron pipes, of a round, square, and polygonal section; but at present, scarcely any other than sheet or cast iron pipes are employed. 1851, Frederick Overman, “Blast Pipes”, in The Manufacture of Iron, in All its Various Branches. […] , 2nd edition, Philadelphia: Henry C. Baird, page 413:
   • Three small gelignite bombs, with pocket watch timing devices, were concealed in packets small enough to fit through the slot of the standard cast-iron post box, the cylindrical bright red colored boxes so common throughout London. 2008, Steven P. Moysey, The Road to Balcombe Street: The IRA Reign of Terror in London, Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, →ISBN, page 58:
2. (figuratively) Durable; tough; resilient.
   • Ernest has a cast iron constitution and never gets sick.
   • Just because a pilot passes a pretty severe medical test every so often, it doesn't mean that he has a Cast Iron constitution and can fly indefinitely. 1932 January 14, Charles W. Purcell, “Stop Telling the Pilot What to Do”, in Popular Aviation, volume 10, number 1, →ISSN, page 62:
3. (figuratively) Inflexible or without exception.
   • As far as her own theories are concerned, she is limitlessly credulous, to a degree which makes me suspect that she is a cast-iron idiot. 2016 March 19, Rod Liddle, “What makes the white working class angry? Twits like Hsiao-Hung Pai”, in The Spectator:
   • The school's cast iron policy on admissions fees left no leeway for needy students.
   • "The fact is," confided Tulloch, taking his place in the car, "I've been out of things for a bit, Wynn, and I'm finding civilisation a shade cast-iron now. I've been down in the wilds since you were with me." 1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

cast-iron stomach

Synonyms

impervious · iron · stern · unrelenting · iron-clad · robust · bulletproof · unwavering · unshakable

Translations (34)

pl surowy (inflexible or without exception) · tr döküm (made of cast iron) · bg железен (durable, tough, resiliant) · pl stalowy (durable, tough, resiliant) · sv gjutjärns- (made of cast iron) · pl srogi (inflexible or without exception) · uk залі́зний (durable, tough, resiliant) · uk стале́вий (durable, tough, resiliant) · uk жорстки́й (inflexible or without exception) · hy չուգունե (made of cast iron) · bg твърд (inflexible or without exception) · it di ferro (durable, tough, resiliant) · fi valurautainen (made of cast iron) · pl żelazny (durable, tough, resiliant) · fa چدنی (made of cast iron) · it di ghisa (made of cast iron) · uk чаву́нний (made of cast iron) · ba суйын (made of cast iron) · fi valurauta- (made of cast iron) · ru жёсткий (inflexible or without exception) · bg чугунен (made of cast iron) · fi rautainen (durable, tough, resiliant) · de gusseisern (made of cast iron) · ru чугу́нный (made of cast iron) · pl żeliwny (made of cast iron) · ru суро́вый (inflexible or without exception) · ru желе́зный (durable, tough, resiliant) · uk чаву́нний (durable, tough, resiliant) · it inflessibile (inflexible or without exception) · hy թուջե (made of cast iron) · uk суво́рий (inflexible or without exception) · fi kiveen hakattu (inflexible or without exception) · ru стро́гий (inflexible or without exception) · bg непреклонен (inflexible or without exception)

cast iron en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Derived from the casting of this form of iron. See wrought iron for comparison.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A hard and brittle, but strong, alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon, formed by casting in a mould.
   • Cast iron is popular for cookware where an even heating temperature is important.
   • The history of cast iron in railway bridges is much more grimly chequered. Brunel's misgivings were proved prudent, tragically, in the 1879 failure of Thomas Bouch's Tay bridge (once a monument to cast iron, now a memorial to many lives lost). 2025 March 5, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Remembering Brunel's timber viaducts”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 60:

Forms

Coordinates

pig iron · wrought iron

Deriveds

cast-iron plant

Hypernyms

iron · metal

Translations (72)

kum чоюн (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · da støbejern (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · es hierro colado (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · hu öntött vas (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · tr pik (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · bg чугун (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · nl gietijzer (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · uk чаву́н (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · id besi tuang (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · lv čuguns (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · kk шойын (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ta வார்ப்பிரும்பு (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · hy թուջ (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · tr dökme demir (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · alt чой (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · lv ķets (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · az çuqun (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ro fontă (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ota دوكمه (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · tl binubong bakal (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ca ferro colat (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · cmn 鑄鐵 /铸铁 (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · el χυτοσίδηρος (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · xal ширм (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · sv gjutjärn (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · pa ਦੇਗੀ ਲੋਹਾ (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ja 鋳鉄 (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · fi valurauta (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · he יַצֶקֶת (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ba суйын (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · pt ferro fundido (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · hu öntöttvas (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · sh lijevano željezo (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · nn støypejarn (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · is steypujárn (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · it ghisa (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · es fundición (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · kn ತಂಡವಾಳ (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · cs litina (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · xal цө (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ca ferro fos (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · mi rino whakarewa (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · lt ketus (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · uz choʻyan (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · nn støypejern (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ga iarann múnla (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · be чыгун (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · sk liatina (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · fr fonte (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · pl żeliwo (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · my သံကြွပ် (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · vi gang (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ka თუჯი (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · chr ᏧᎳᏍᎩ (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · izh cuguna (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · fa چدن (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · nb støpejern (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · tr font (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · nb støypejern (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · io gis-fero (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · cy haearn bwrw (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · nv béésh ditʼódí (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · mk леано железо (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · eo gisfero (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · lb Goss (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · es hierro fundido (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · kk шоюн (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · de Gusseisen (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ru чугу́н (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · et malm (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · ko 주철 (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon) · hy չուգուն (hard, brittle alloy of iron, carbon, silicon)