copper

noun
🔊/ˈkɒpə(r)/
🔊/ˈkɑːpər/
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  1. [uncountable]
    (symbol Cu)
    a chemical element. Copper is a soft red-brown metal used for making electric wires, pipes and coins.
    • a copper mine铜矿
    • copper pipes铜管
    • copper-coloured hair红棕色的头发
    Extra Examples
    • Her hair shone like burnished copper.她的头发像擦过的铜一样亮。
    • She works mainly in copper.她主要用铜创作作品。
    • copper alloyed with arsenic铜与砷的合金
    Topics Physics and chemistryc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • pure
    • molten
    • beaten
    verb + copper
    • mine
    • produce
    • contain
    copper + noun
    • mine
    • miner
    • mining
    preposition
    • in copper
    phrases
    • an alloy of copper and something
    • an alloy of copper with something
    See full entry
  2. coppers
    [plural] (British English) brown coins that do not have much value铜币
    • I only paid a few coppers for it.我只花了几个铜板买下这东西。🔊🔊
  3. [countable] (British English, informal) a police officer警察
    • Apparently, her dad's a copper.显然,她父亲是铜。
    • There are a couple of coppers waiting outside.有几根铜在外面等着。
    Topics Law and justicec2
  4. Word Originsenses 1 to 2 Old English copor, coper (related to Dutch koper and German Kupfer), based on late Latin cuprum, from Latin cyprium aes ‘Cyprus metal’ (so named because Cyprus was the chief source).sense 3 mid 19th cent.: from cop + -er.