crucible steel

noun

: hard cast steel made in pots that are lifted from the furnace before the metal is poured into molds

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crucible steel was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near crucible steel

crucible furnace

crucible steel

Crucibulum

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Crucible steel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crucible%20steel. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on crucible steel

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crucible steel

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Quiz: Spot More Misspelled Words Can you get all these questions write?