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iron

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iron¹

  • /ˈaɪ.ən/ UK
  • /ˈɑjən/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈaɪ.ɚn/ US
  • /ˈaɪ.ɹən/ Canada, Northern Ireland, Scotland
  • /ˈɑɪ.ən/ Australia
  • /əˈjɜ(r)n/ South Asia
  • /ˈəj(ː)ən/ South Asia
  • /ˈəjrən/ South Asia

Sounds like ion (in some accents only) · Rhymes with -aɪə(ɹ)n

Where it comes from

From Middle English iren, from Old English īsern, īsærn, īren, īsen, from Proto-West Germanic *īsarn, from Proto-Germanic *īsarną (“iron”), from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom (“iron”), possibly a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésh₂r̥ (“blood”).

Cognates

Cognate with Scots airn, ern (“iron”), Yola eeren (“iron”), Saterland Frisian Iersen (“iron”), West Frisian izer (“iron”), Bavarian Eisn (“iron”), Cimbrian aizarn (“iron”), Dutch ijzer (“iron”), German, Luxembourgish Eisen (“iron”), German Low German Isen (“iron”), Alemannic German Ise (“iron”), Limburgish iezer (“iron”), Mòcheno aisn (“iron”), Vilamovian ȧjza (“iron”), West Flemish yzer (“iron”), Yiddish אײַזן (ayzn, “iron”), Danish jern, jærn (“iron”), Faroese jarn (“iron”), Icelandic járn (“iron”), Jamtish járn, jáðn (“iron”), Norwegian Bokmål jern (“iron”), Norwegian Nynorsk jarn, jern, jønn (“iron”), Swedish jern, jaͤrn, järn (“iron”), Gothic 𐌴𐌹𐍃𐌰𐍂𐌽 (eisarn, “iron”).

noun irons

  1. uncountable A common, inexpensive metal, silvery grey when untarnished, that rusts, is attracted by magnets, and is used in making steel: a chemical element having atomic number 26 and symbol Fe. Today we studied about metals — including iron — at school.

    Similar: ferrum

  2. countable, uncountable Any material, not a steel, predominantly made of elemental iron.
  3. countable A tool or appliance made of metal, which is heated and then used to transfer heat to something else; most often a thick piece of metal fitted with a handle and having a flat, roughly triangular bottom, which is heated and used to press wrinkles from clothing, and now usually containing an electrical heating apparatus.

    Similar: clothes iron, flatiron, smoothing iron

  4. countable, uncountable Any of several other tools traditionally made of wrought iron, now usually of steel.
  5. countable, plural normally, uncountable Shackles.
  6. countable, slang, uncountable A firearm, either a long gun or a handgun. It's many niggas now totin' iron.

    Similar: shooting iron

  7. uncountable A dark shade of the color silver.
  8. Cockney, countable, offensive, slang A male homosexual.

    Similar: poof, queer

  9. countable, uncountable A golf club used for middle-distance shots. The brassey much resembled the driver, but the iron opened out quite a new field of practice; […]
  10. figuratively, uncountable Used as a symbol of great strength or toughness, or to signify a very strong or tough material. ironman; a will of iron
  11. countable, uncountable Weight used as resistance for the purpose of strength training. He lifts iron on the weekends.
  12. countable A meteorite consisting primarily of metallic iron (mixed with a small amount of nickel), as opposed to one composed mainly of stony material. Irons and stony irons can be much larger than stony meteorites and are much more visually striking, but make up only a few percent of all meteorites.
  13. countable, uncountable A safety curtain in a theatre.
  14. countable, slang, uncountable A dumb bomb, one without guidance systems.

adjective

  1. not comparable Made of the metal iron.
  2. figuratively, not comparable Strong (as of will), inflexible. She had an iron will.

    Similar: adamant, adamantine, brassbound

verb irons · ironing · ironed

  1. transitive To pass an iron over (clothing or some other item made of cloth) in order to remove creases. You'd be wise to iron that shirt before you wear it.

    Similar: press

  2. intransitive To engage in such pressing of clothing. They were washing and ironing all morning.
  3. archaic, transitive To shackle with irons; to fetter or handcuff. [...] is it he who is ironed like a malefactor—who is to be dragged on a hurdle to the common gallows—to die a lingering and cruel death, and to be mangled by the hand of the most outcast of wretches?
  4. transitive To furnish, clad, or arm with iron. to iron a wagon

Iron²

Where it comes from

Translation of the Arabic حديد (ḥadīd, “iron”).

proper noun

  1. The 57th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

Iron³

Where it comes from

From Ossetian Ирон (Iron), a derivation (with the adjective suffix Ossetian -он (-on) from the historical genitive plural Proto-Indo-Iranian *-ānaHam) of Ossetian Ир (Ir). Ossetian Ир (Ir) probably reflexes Proto-Indo-Iranian *wiHrás. Because the Digoron ethnonym for the Ir is Ossetian Ирӕ (Iræ), Cheung (2002) has suggested a derivation from the plural Proto-Indo-Iranian *wiHrā́s. Ossetian Ирон (Iron) is unrelated to Iran despite the superficial similarity in form. Borrowed into the Vainakh languages (and some Dagestani languages) as their exonym for the Ossetes, cf. Chechen Хӏири (Hiri), Ingush Хӏире (Hire).

proper noun

  1. A group of Ossetians of the northern Caucasus who speak the Iron Ossetian dialect.

adjective

  1. not comparable Of or pertaining to the Iron people.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: cast-iron, smoothing iron, branding iron, iron out, chain, fe, robust, chains, metal, steel, smelting, ferrous, ore, ferric, ferrite, metalwork

Translations

Every language

noun chemical element Fe

Españolhierro, fierro
한국어철 cheol, 쇠 soe
日本語鉄 tetsu, くろがね kurogane
中文鐵 /铁 tiě
हिन्दीलोहा lohā, आहन āhan
Kiswahilichuma
Portuguêsferro
Françaisfer
DeutschEisen
Italianoferro
Ελληνικάσίδηρος sídiros, σίδερο sídero
Românăfier
Русскийжеле́зо želézo, фе́ррум férrum
Tiếng Việtsắt
العربيةحَدِيد ḥadīd
עבריתבַּרְזֶל barzél

noun type of golf club

Españolhierro
日本語アイアン aian
DeutschEisen

noun symbol of great strength or toughness

Españolde hierro
Françaisde fer
Italianodi ferro

adj made of iron

Españolférreo, férrico, ferroso
日本語鉄製の tetsusei no
中文鐵製的 /铁制的
Portuguêsde ferro, férreo
Françaisde fer
Deutscheisern
Italianoferreo, ferroso, ferrico
Ελληνικάσιδερένιος siderénios
Românăde fier, din fier
Русскийжеле́зный želéznyj
العربيةحَدِيدِيّ ḥadīdiyy

adj strong, inflexible

Españolférreo
Portuguêsferrenho
Deutscheisern
Italianoinflessibile, ferro
Ελληνικάσιδερένιος siderénios
Românăde fier
Русскийжеле́зный želéznyj, несгиба́емый nesgibájemyj, твёрдый tvjórdyj, жёсткий žóstkij

verb to pass an iron over clothing

Españolplanchar, aplanchar
한국어다림질하다 darimjilhada, 다리미질하다 darimijilhada, 다리다 darida
日本語アイロンをかける airon o kakeru, アイロン掛けをする airongake o suru
中文熨 yùn, 熨燙 /熨烫 yùntàng, 燙 /烫 tàng, 熨平 yùnpíng, 燙平 /烫平 tàngpíng
Portuguêspassar, passar a ferro, engomar
Françaisrepasser
Deutschbügeln
Italianostirare
Ελληνικάσιδερώνω sideróno
Românăcălca
Русскийгла́дить gláditʹ, погла́дить pogláditʹ, вы́гладить výgladitʹ, отгла́дить otgláditʹ, утю́жить utjúžitʹ, вы́утюжить výutjužitʹ
Tiếng Việtủi, là
العربيةكَوَى kawā
עבריתגִּהֵץ gihétz

verb to shackle with irons

Deutschin Eisen legen
Русскийзако́вывать zakóvyvatʹ, закова́ть zakovátʹ

verb to furnish or arm with iron

Русскийпокрыва́ть pokryvátʹ, покры́ть pokrýtʹ

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MLA

"iron." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/iron. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

iron. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/iron

Chicago

"iron." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/iron.

BibTeX
@misc{iron_2026,
  title = {iron},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/iron},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}