“Steel is a metal.”
Usage Entry 1296 / 1350 60-second read
Metal vs. Alloy
A pure metallic element versus a mixture of metals (and sometimes non-metals).
The comparisoni
“Steel is an alloy — iron plus carbon (and often other metals). Pure metals are single elements (iron, gold, copper).”
The ruleii
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METAL = pure. ALLOY = mixed.
METAL is a pure metallic element — iron, gold, copper, aluminum. ALLOY is a mixture of metals (and sometimes non-metals like carbon) — steel (iron + carbon), brass (copper + zinc), bronze (copper + tin). Alloys often outperform their component metals.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Metal = pure. Alloy = mixed.