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Glite Dictionary
steelie

steelie

1 8.5
A small heavy steel ball used to play marbles or a metal cover that fits on a car wheel
  • noun
  • /ˈstiːli/
  • US
: canica de acero
  • The car looked classic with shiny steelies on all four wheels.

Examples

  • Kids often trade steelies because they are heavier than regular marbles.

  • He found a shiny steelie in the grass.

  • He won three steelies in the marble game.

  • The kids played marbles with their steelies all afternoon.

  • He rolled the steelie down the street, hoping to beat his friend's score in marbles.

  • The mechanic replaced the flat tire with a shiny new steelie for a smoother ride.

  • After finding the old steelie, she remembered playing marbles with her childhood friends.

Synonyms

marble
vssteelie
30 1.0

A small round glass ball used by children to play games

is made of metal rather than glass in many cases

Surface Forms

steelie singular
steelies plural

Morphology

steelie = steel (transparent) = steel + ie

Formed from 'steel' + the informal/diminutive suffix '-ie', so the meaning 'small steel object' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Steelie comes from steel, meaning 'strong metal', plus the English ending -ie, meaning 'small or friendly'. So a steelie is literally a 'small steel thing', which fits both the heavy steel marble and the shiny steel wheel cover on a car.