emery paper

5.7

Paper with rough powder used to smooth and polish surfaces like metal

noun
/ˈɛməri ˈpeɪpər/

Specialized

: papel de esmeril

To get a polished finish, she sanded the metal with emery paper.

Examples

The black mill scale on the surface of the samples was removed with an abrading wheel, followed by polishing the surface with rough to fine (100 to 600) grades of emery paper.

Academic text (2016)
He smoothed the rough edges of the wood using emery paper.
Small tools are spread on the tatami: a razor knife, a sprue cutter, curls of emery paper.

Fiction book (2000)
Before painting, you should prepare the surface with emery paper.

Synonyms

sandpaper

vsemery paper

14 2.3

A strong paper with rough grains that you rub on wood or metal to make it smooth

is a stiff sheet coated specifically with powdered mineral for smoothing

emery

vsemery paper

Specialized

2 8.4

A hard dark rock used to make surfaces smooth by rubbing

is the abrasive applied to a stiff sheet for smoothing surfaces

emery cloth

vsemery paper

Specialized

6.9

A strong cloth with rough bits used to smooth and shine metal

is the same abrasive use but on a stiff sheet rather than a fabric backing

How Abrasive

grinding wheel

Specialized

1 3.9

grindstone

9 6.9

emery paper

Specialized

5.7

sandpaper

14 2.3

Surface Forms

emery paper singular

emery papers plural

Morphology

emery + paper

The meaning is directly compositional: it denotes a type of paper that is coated with emery (an abrasive mineral), so a learner who knows 'emery' and 'paper' can infer it is abrasive paper. This follows a common material+object noun-compound pattern found across languages, making the sense immediately predictable to learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Emery paper comes from a simple workshop method: ground emery, a hard rock, was stuck onto paper to make a rough sheet. That's why emery paper means stiff paper 'used for smoothing or polishing' surfaces.