steel

verb

steeled; steeling; steels

transitive verb

1

: to overlay, point, or edge with steel

2

a

: to cause to resemble steel (as in looks or hardness)

b

: to fill with resolution or determination

steeled herself to face the crisis

Synonyms of steel

• inspire
• encourage
• bear up

Examples of steel in a Sentence

hoped that his inspirational talk would steel the youths in the pursuit of their dreams

years of running a farm had steeled the hard-bitten woman

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, Altman appeared jittery at first but steeled his nerves rather quickly. —Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026

If nerves rise, steel your voice and lead with the headline, since plain language travels farther than frills. —Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2026

The Leopards steeled themselves, took a breath, went again, even as star man Noah Sadiki was forced off with an injury. —Jack Lang, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2026

Denise and Aaron steeled themselves to face Muller in court. —Lauren Clark, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing steel

• carbon steel
• crucible steel
• Damascus steel
• lap steel
• lap steel guitar
• man of steel
• maraging steel
• mild steel
• nerves of steel
• of/like steel
• pedal steel
• pedal steel guitar
• stainless steel
• steel band
• steel blue
• steel drum
• steel engraving
• steel guitar
• steel oneself
• steel town
• steel-trap
• steel wool
• structural steel

Rhymes for steel

• beal
• chiel
• ciel
• creel
• deal
• diel
• eel
• feel
• feil
• heal
• heel
• keel

Kids Definition

steel

1 of 3 noun

ˈstē(ə)l 

1

: commercial iron that contains carbon in any amount up to about 1.7 percent as a necessary part

2

: an article (as a sword) made of steel

3

: a hard cold quality

answered with steel in her voice

steel

2 of 3 verb

: to fill with courage or determination

steel

3 of 3 adjective

1

: made of or like steel

2

: of or relating to the production of steel