Iron is an element which usually takes the form of a hard, dark-grey metal. It is used to make steel, and also forms part of many tools, buildings, and vehicles. Very small amounts of iron occur in your blood and in food.

a malleable ductile silvery-white ferromagnetic metallic element occurring principally in haematite and magnetite . It is widely used for structural and engineering purposes. Symbol: Fe; atomic no: 26; atomic wt: 55.847; valency : 2,3,4, or 6; relative density : 7.874; melting pt: 1538°C; boiling pt: 2862°C

a malleable ductile silvery-white ferromagnetic metallic element occurring principally in haematite and magnetite . It is widely used for structural and engineering purposes. Symbol: Fe; atomic no: 26; atomic wt: 55.847; valency : 2,3,4, or 6; relative density : 7.874; melting pt: 1538°C; boiling pt: 2862°C

(of a sailing vessel ) headed directly into the wind without steerageway

metal fireside implements , such as poker , shovel , and tongs

a metal scissor-like device that is heated, so that strands of hair may be twined around it in order to form curls

spiked steel frames worn on the feet to assist in climbing trees, ice slopes , etc

a nonmagnetic allotrope of pure iron stable between 770° C and 910°C

Cast iron is iron which contains a small amount of carbon. It is hard and cannot be bent so it has to be made into objects by casting .

a heavy, usually cast-iron oven dish used for baking small cakes ( gems )

If you iron out difficulties, you resolve them and bring them to an end.

a shackle for a prisoner's leg

a harpoon , the head of which is detachable

a club with a long shaft and an iron head the face of which has little slope , used for hitting long, low shots

crude iron produced in a blast furnace and poured into moulds in preparation for making wrought iron, steels , alloys , etc

iron that has a low carbon content and is easily magnetized and demagnetized with a small hysteresis loss

a magnetic allotrope of iron that is stable below 910° C ; ferrite

an iron or a steel structural bar that has an L-shaped cross section

a strip of metal with its ends bent at right angles , used to bind masonry

an allotrope of iron that exists between 1400°C and the melting point of iron and has the same structure as alpha iron

an allotrope of iron that is nonmagnetic and exists between 910°C and 1400°C

a type of steel containing a small amount of carbon and very small quantities of other elements

waste iron or used articles made of iron, often collected and reprocessed

a club , as a pitcher , pitching niblick, or niblick, with a short shaft and an iron head the face of which has great slope , for hitting approach shots

A steam iron is an electric iron that produces steam from water that you put into it. The steam makes it easier to get the creases out of your clothes.

cast iron having most or all of its carbon in the form of cementite and exhibiting a silvery fracture

a rolled-steel bar with a U-shaped cross section

a metal ring or cap to which bobstays and shrouds are secured , at the forward end of a bowsprit

an instrument for curling or waving the hair , generally a metal rod around which, after it is heated , a tress of hair is rolled into a ringlet

iron for smoothing joints between lead pipes

either of two metal loops on a riding saddle , with a flat footpiece through which a rider puts his or her foot for support. They are attached to the saddle by stirrup leathers

a whaling harpoon with a pivoting barb near its head to prevent a harpooned whale pulling free

a whaling harpoon with a pivoting barb near its head to prevent a harpooned whale pulling free

an appliance used to cook waffles that has hinged indented plates that press a grid design into both sides of the waffle as it bakes

Wrought iron is a type of iron that is easily formed into shapes and is used especially for making gates , fences , and furniture .

an iron heated and used for branding animals, etc

either of a pair of metal frames with spikes that may be strapped over footgear , on the inside of the leg to aid in climbing trees, public utility poles , etc.

a thin structural sheet made of iron or steel , formed with alternating ridges and troughs

iron, esp a sheet of corrugated iron, covered with a protective coating of zinc

a grapnel , esp one used for securing ships

cast iron that has been toughened by gradual heating or slow cooling

cast iron that has been toughened by gradual heating or slow cooling

a firearm , esp a pistol

A soldering iron is a tool used to solder things together .

If someone has a lot of irons in the fire , they are involved in several different activities or have several different plans .

See white iron

to be involved in many projects , activities , etc

Cramp is a sudden strong pain caused by a muscle suddenly contracting . You sometimes get cramp in a muscle after you have been making a physical effort over a long period of time.

a strip of metal with its ends bent at right angles , used to bind masonry

to be involved in several different activities or have several different plans at the same time, so that it is likely that something will succeed even if other things fail