Advertisement

Advertisement

steel wool

noun

  1. a tangled or matted mass of stringlike steel shavings, used for scouring, polishing, smoothing, etc.


steel wool

noun

  1. a tangled or woven mass of fine steel fibres, used for cleaning or polishing
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of steel wool1

First recorded in 1895–1900
Discover More

Example Sentences

Work stubborn areas with steel wool and wipe them with a rag.

Now that most of the paint is gone, spray the chair with denatured alcohol and scrub with more steel wool to clean off any residue.

Once there, you can hike, bike or drive a 13-mile loop through a landscape of stacked and tumbled boulders, some fiery red, some chalky white, many so strangely striated that you may suspect they’ve been scrubbed with steel wool.

Lewis also recommends using steel wool with a grade of 0000, the finest type of wool that will not scratch surfaces.

“Any other steel wool will scratch and etch into glass and other surfaces.”

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement