Dictionary › B › brass
brass
1 syllableYour browser doesn’t have built-in voices. Try Chrome, Edge or Safari.
As a noun, brass means a metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications. As an adjective, it means made of brass, of or pertaining to brass.
Meanings of brass
21 meaningsnoun
A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.
A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten
Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass
musicA class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound; the section of an orchestra that features such instruments
Spent shell casings (usually made of brass); the part of the cartridge left over after bullets have been fired.
The colour of brass.
(military, business or other organizations, uncountable, used as a singular or plural noun, metonym) High-ranking officers.
“The brass are not going to like this.”
“The brass is not going to like this.”
informalA brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence.
“You've got a lot of brass telling me to do that!”
Inferior composition.
slangA prostitute.
A wind instrument that consists of a brass tube (usually of variable length) that is blown by means of a cup-shaped or funnel-shaped mouthpiece
Similar: brass instrumentThe persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something
“he claims that the present administration is corrupt”
“the governance of an association is responsible to its members”
“he quickly became recognized as a member of the establishment”
Similar: administration, governance, governing body, establishment, organization, organisation
Older and rare meanings (1)
slangdatedMoney.
Synonym of brace, a traditional unit of measure equivalent to a fathom (6 feet) or about 1.6 m, especially as the Spanish braza and Portuguese braça.
adjective
Made of brass, of or pertaining to brass.
Of the colour of brass.
informalImpertinent, bold: brazen.
slangBad, annoying; as wordplay applied especially to brass instruments.
Of inferior composition.
slangBrass monkey; cold.
verb
To coat with brass.
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).