high-speed steel
- noun
- /haɪ-spid stiːl/
- Specialized
- The engineer recommended using a high-speed steel tool for precision metal cutting.
So your typical cheapest ones are going to be high speed steel.
- So your typical cheapest ones are going to be high speed steel.
- A drill index, a magnetic base, a high speed steel end mills, a vice.
Examples
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I made the custom tool out of a high-speed steel cobalt parting tool (McMaster.com part number 3275A57).
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When working with hard materials, a high-speed steel drill bit is essential for efficient drilling.
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This one's high speed steel and it would not braise to this mild steel.
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And for home shops and hobbyists and prototype shops, high speed steel tooling is fine.
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For best results, opt for high-speed steel tooling when machining tough metals.
Synonyms
Hard strong steel used to make blades and parts that stay sharp
A type of metal that stays hard at high temperatures used to make cutting tools like drills
How Hard
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
high-speed + steel
The phrase is compositionally built from 'high-speed' (fast/used at high speeds) + 'steel' (the metal), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will infer it denotes a kind of steel related to high-speed use (e.g. for drills). However, the precise technical sense — that it retains hardness at high temperatures and is specifically used for cutting tools — is specialized and not fully predictable from the words alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
High-speed steel comes from the idea of cutting at high speed: when tools cut very fast they get hot and normal steel becomes soft. This special steel stays hard even when it gets hot, so the name points to 'fast cutting' and explains why it is used for cutting tools.