silver
(sɪlvəʳ )
Word forms: silvers
1. uncountable noun [oft NOUN noun] A2
Silver is a valuable pale-grey metal that is used for making jewellery and ornaments.
...a hand-crafted brooch made from silver.
...amber earrings set in silver.
...silver teaspoons.
2. uncountable noun
Silver consists of coins that are made from silver or that look like silver.
...the basement where £150,000 in silver was buried.
Synonyms: silver coins, coins, loose change, (small) change
3. uncountable noun [oft the NOUN]
You can use silver to refer to all the things in a house that are made of silver, especially the cutlery and dishes.
He beat the rugs and polished the silver.
Synonyms: silverware, silver plate
4. colour A2
Silver is used to describe things that are shiny and pale grey in colour.
He had thick silver hair which needed cutting.
...a silver sports car.
Using silver tape, they taped all the doors and windows shut.
5. variable noun
A silver is the same as a silver medal.
The British sprinter won silver in the women's 100m.
6. born with a silver spoon in your mouth phrase
If you think that someone has a lot of advantages because they have a rich or influential family, you can say that they have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and everything has been done for her.
Image of silver
© Andrii Gorulko, Shutterstock
Idioms:
every cloud has a silver lining
said to mean that there is always a good or pleasant side-effect of a bad or unpleasant situation
As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. If we hadn't missed the plane, we would never have met you.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
hand someone something on a silver platter or hand someone something on a platter
to give someone something without them having to work or make an effort to get it
They all seem to believe that life's riches should come handed to them on a silver platter and that work is for morons.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
born with a silver spoon in your mouth
born into a very rich family and having a privileged upbringing. This expression is usually used to show resentment or disapproval.
Samantha was born with a silver spoon in her mouth; there's always someone to pay her bills if her inheritance isn't enough.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Collocations:
silver cup silver thread silver tray silver trophy silver watch win silver
He had a silver cup made to commemorate it, and the original has long been lost.
Times, Sunday Times
This came about in 1961 when he was hammering a silver cup into shape using a hammer whose head had been scarred by nails.
Times, Sunday Times
It arrives in a tall glass, with the same quantity again served on the side in the silver cup it was blended in.
Times, Sunday Times
What a price to pay for a washboard abdomen, a silver cup on the sideboard or even a gold medal in the drawer.
Times, Sunday Times
There's a good-natured cheer; he gets a little silver cup.
Times, Sunday Times
Gracie herself referred to it as weaving a silver thread between herself and her audience.
Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing (2006)
Above Lucy's house, Maggie could see the crescent sliver of a new moon and the faint silver thread it drew around the old moon 's darkness.
AFTERMATH (2004)
It was a dress of pink organdie, with silver thread on the bodice and a petticoat to go with it.
THE GOLDEN LION (2004)
A sailor in white service dress uniform came up and offered him a large gin and tonic, on a silver tray.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The door opened and his manservant, an ex-Gurkha naik named Kim, came in with a silver tray which he placed by the fire.
CONFESSIONAL
A silver tray of orange juice, fresh croissants and coffee had just been delivered from the bar opposite.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
For the first time I noticed she was holding a silver tray by her side, empty apart from a few crumbs of fish cakes or satay.
MAN AND WIFE (2002)
She then opens a lacquered wooden box on the silver tray and using a pair of long silver tongs extracts a writhing leech.
THE SAVAGE GIRL (2003)
From the moment it was crafted, there was something magical about that silver trophy.
Times, Sunday Times
In reaching the 2005 final they had already shown their credentials to be regarded as serious candidates to lift the silver trophy.
The Sun
Victory last year brought a 'beautiful silver trophy' and an invitation to the champions' dinner.
Times, Sunday Times
She said she would like to have a silver trophy in her hospital room [the winner's prize].
Times, Sunday Times
After landing at the nearest airport, the solid silver trophy worth more than 100,000 will be taken by car in its protective wooden case to its final destination.
Times, Sunday Times
Inside the box nestled a delicate silver watch.
Christianity Today
His silver watch gleams in the sunset.
Times, Sunday Times
At that time he was sporting a silver watch fob, spread-collar shirt and wide-striped double-breasted suit tailored to accentuate his bodybuilder's silhouette.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
They will be let go without pensions and silver watches.
Globe and Mail
After this he advertised regularly and offered silver watches, chronometers and jewellery for sale.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
They didn't come to win silver.
The Sun
She would go on to win silver in both the 800 and 1500 m freestyle events.
Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
I won silver in slalom and giant slalom at both.
ST
We won silver but failed to secure the gold, which we should have won.
Times, Sunday Times
Bolt won silver in the 200m and 4x100m relay.
Times, Sunday Times
Translations:
Chinese: 银
Japanese: 銀
- power of endurance
- power of veto
- power output
- power plant
- power play
- power-play
- power point
- power relations
- power resides
- power-sharing
- power sharing
- power-sharing agreement
- power-sharing arrangement
- power-sharing deal
- power-sharing government
- power shortage
- power socket
- power source
- power station
- power steering
- power switch
- power transfer
- power transmission
- power turbine
- power up