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Glite Dictionary
shot metal

shot metal

9.5
A soft metal mixture mostly made of lead used to make small pellets for shotgun shells
  • noun
  • /ʃɑt ˈmɛtəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : metal de perdigón
  • Traditional shotgun shells often contain pellets made from shot metal.

Examples

  • The factory produces shot metal for use in hunting ammunition.

  • Due to health concerns, alternatives to shot metal are being explored.

  • The factory produces high-quality shot metal for ammunition.

  • Is shot metal safe to handle?

  • The factory produces shot metal for use in crafting shotgun cartridges.

  • Traditional shotgun cartridges are filled with small pellets made from shot metal.

  • Because of its high density, shot metal is ideal for creating effective hunting ammunition.

Surface Forms

shot metal singular
shot metals plural

Morphology

shot + metal

The overall sense — metal used for shot/pellets — is partially derivable from 'shot' (projectile/pellet) + 'metal' (a metallic material), so learners can infer it refers to metal related to shooting. However, the expression is technical and somewhat ambiguous ("shot" can also mean the act of firing) and the specific alloy composition is specialized, so a B1 learner may not fully recover the precise meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Shot metal gets its name from the small round pieces called shot that are the 'pellets' made from metal for shotgun shells. So, it now means the mix of metals used to make those pellets.