zinc

American  

[zingk] / zɪŋk /

noun

1. Chemistry. a ductile, bluish-white metallic element: used in making galvanized iron, brass, and other alloys, and as an element in voltaic cells. Zn; 65.37; 30; 7.14 at 20°C.

2. a piece of this metal used as an element in a voltaic cell.

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verb (used with object)

zincked, zinced, zincking, zincing

1. to coat or cover with zinc.

zinc British  

/ zɪŋk /

noun

1. a brittle bluish-white metallic element that becomes coated with a corrosion-resistant layer in moist air and occurs chiefly in sphalerite and smithsonite. It is a constituent of several alloys, esp brass and nickel-silver, and is used in die-casting, galvanizing metals, and in battery electrodes. Symbol: Zn; atomic no: 30; atomic wt: 65.39; valency: 2; relative density: 7.133; melting pt: 419.58°C; boiling pt: 907°C

2. informal corrugated galvanized iron

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zinc Scientific  

/ zĭngk /

1. A shiny, bluish-white metallic element that is brittle at room temperature but is malleable when heated. It is used in alloys such as brass and bronze, as a coating for iron and steel, and in various household objects. Zinc is essential to human and animal growth. Atomic number 30; atomic weight 65.39; melting point 419.4°C; boiling point 907°C; specific gravity 7.133 (25°C); valence 2.

2. See Periodic Table

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Other Word Forms

• zincic adjective
• zincky adjective
• zincoid adjective
• zincy adjective
• zinky adjective

Etymology

Origin of zinc

1635–45; < German Zink, perhaps derivative of Zinke ( n ) prong, tine, from the spikelike form it takes in a furnace

Compare meaning

How does zinc compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• zinc vs. zinc sulfate

Example Sentences

AFP visited the remote border zone and saw three buildings reduced to rubble, their scorched zinc roofing twisted among the debris.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

However, this research expands that understanding by examining additional minerals, including magnesium and zinc.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026

At least 33 miners have died in a suspected carbon-monoxide leak at a lead and zinc mine in central Nigeria's Plateau state, witnesses have told the BBC.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

“Vitamin C, zinc, key lime. I do my bees and my glutathione, and then I do my black walnuts because that’s a part of helping kill the parasites in the body.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Many years later, when Macondo was a field of wooden houses with zinc roofs, the broken and dusty almond trees still stood on the oldest streets, although no one knew who had planted them.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• gold
• iron
• metal
• mineral
• platinum