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

This includes screening for heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury, along with other potential contaminants. — Jess Cording, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

Throngs of people gather to watch troupes perform ballet over the hum of violin strings, twirl to Hindi music in traditional Indian dress, and even stomp to heavy metal. — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 24 June 2026

The testing looked at form factors, creatine per serving, percent creatine, creatinine levels and heavy metals. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2026

Scientists considered bacterial or viral infection, heavy metal toxins or some combination of environmental causes. — Robert Promisloff, The Conversation, 19 June 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