Dictionary

heavy metal en · NOUN

Pronunciation

/ˈhɛv.i ˌmɛt.əl/ (US)
(US) audio

Etymology

According to the Oxford World's Classics edition of Anthony Trollope's Rachel Ray (1863), "big guns," as on a warship. The origin of the music genre sense is often disputed; it was used by William S. Burroughs in Soft Machine and Nova Express and various music critics claim to have coined it: Sandy Pearlman, Lester Bangs and Mike Saunders.

Meanings

(countable) Any metal that has a specific gravity greater than about 5, especially one, such as lead, that is poisonous and may be a hazard in the environment. (There are many different definitions of what counts as a heavy metal; see Heavy metals for a discussion.)
(uncountable) A genre descended from rock music, characterized by the use of emphatic drumbeats, highly amplified distortion, and overall loudness; often featuring extended instrumental solos and powerful vocals.
(uncountable) A genre descended from rock music, characterized by the use of emphatic drumbeats, highly amplified distortion, and overall loudness; often featuring extended instrumental solos and powerful vocals. ▸ The first form of metal music, which arose in the late 1960s and the 1970s, and is closer to the rock music of the time than most other subgenres of metal.
(uncountable) Guns or shot of large size.
(figuratively, uncountable) Great influence or power.

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
heavy metals	Number=Plur		lexicographic

Translations (68)

ar هيفي ميتال (genre of music) · ca metall pesant (type of metal) · it heavy metal (genre of music) · fi raskasmetalli (type of metal) · nl heavy metal (genre of music) · mr हेव्ही मेटल (genre of music) · ja 重金属 (type of metal) · be хэ́ві-мэ́тал (genre of music) · de Schwermetall (type of metal) · ja ヘヴィメタル (genre of music) · de Metal (genre of music) · ms logam berat (type of metal) · sco heivy metal (type of metal) · gl heavy metal (genre of music) · he הבי מטאל (genre of music) · ro metal greu (type of metal) · th เฮฟวีเมทัล (genre of music) · gl metal pesado (type of metal) · sv heavy metal (genre of music) · hu heavy metal (genre of music) · sv tungmetall (type of metal) · ru хе́ви-ме́тал (genre of music) · fr heavy metal (genre of music) · pt metal pesado (type of metal) · eo pezmetalo (type of metal) · es metal pesado (type of metal) · kl aatsitassaq oqimaatsoq (type of metal) · es rock pesado (genre of music) · fr métal lourd (type of metal) · hu nehézfém (type of metal) · nb tungmetall (type of metal) · sv hårdrock (genre of music) · uk хе́ві-ме́тал (genre of music) · ja ヘビメタ (genre of music) · nn tungmetall (type of metal) · ru тяжёлый мета́лл (type of metal) · fa-ira هِوی مِتال (genre of music) · pt heavy metal (genre of music) · da tungmetal (type of metal) · pl ciężki metal (type of metal) · de Heavy Metal (genre of music) · ko 헤비 메탈 (genre of music) · sco heavy metal (genre of music) · cmn 重金屬 /重金属 (type of metal) · fi hevi (genre of music) · sco hivy metal (genre of music) · sco hivy metal (type of metal) · hi हेवी मेटल (genre of music) · it metallo pesante (type of metal) · tr ağır metal (type of metal) · gl metal (genre of music) · ja ヘビーメタル (genre of music) · pt metal (genre of music) · eo metalroko (genre of music) · ar مُوسِيقَى الْمِيتَال (genre of music) · cmn 重金屬音樂 /重金属音乐 (genre of music) · sco heivy metal (genre of music) · pl heavy metal (genre of music) · ja メタル (genre of music) · km លោហធាតុធ្ងន់ (type of metal) · fi heavy metal (genre of music) · es heavy metal (genre of music) · ka მძიმე მეტალი (genre of music) · id logam berat (type of metal) · th โลหะหนัก (type of metal) · ru мета́лл (genre of music) · ko 중금속 (type of metal) · bg хе́виме́тъл (genre of music)

wikidata: Q38848 · wikipedia: Sandy Pearlman · wikidata: Q38848 · wikipedia: Lester Bangs · wikipedia: Mike Saunders · wikipedia: William S. Burroughs

heavy metal en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Deriveds

Hyponyms

Relateds

Synonyms

Translations (68)