heavy metal

noun

1

: a metal of high specific gravity

2

: energetic and highly amplified electronic rock music having a hard beat

Borrowing elements of everything from grunge to progressive rock, from gospel to heavy metal …

—David Okamoto

Examples of heavy metal in a Sentence

He listens to heavy metal.

lead, gold, and other heavy metals

Recent Examples on the Web

Like many former industrial sites, Hazelwood Green contained soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals and other pollutants, resulting in its classification as a brownfield. — Catherine Armbruster, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026

Among the concerns raised by neighbors are potential emissions of toxic air contaminants, including heavy metals. — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

These filters perform much better against chlorine, sediment and select heavy metals. — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Sep. 2026

The icing on the cake was that, immediately after the Giants Stadium show, the band were going to fly by Concorde to England to appear at the Donington Park heavy metal festival. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for heavy metal

• diacetyl
• acetyl
• bimetal
• gunmetal
• nonmetal
• resettle
• teakettle
• unsettle
• betel
• cetyl
• kettle
• mettle