| Language: | Old English |
| Origin: | bræs |
| |||||||||
brass

1 a very hard bright yellow metal that is a mixture of copper and zinc :
an old brass bedstead
metal
[uncountable]HCE
an old brass bedstead2
music
APMa) [uncountable] musical instruments that are made of metal, such as the trumpet and the trombone :
brass instruments ➔ percussion, stringed instrument, wind instrument, woodwind
brass instrumentsb) the people in an orchestra or band who play musical instruments that are made of metal
the brass (section)
3 an object made of brass, usually with a design cut into it, or several brass objects
decorations
[countable usually plural]4 to start talking about the most important facts or details of something
get down to brass tacks
informal5 people who hold the most important positions [= top brass British English]
people with top jobs
the brass
American English informal6 used to say that it is very cold
it's brass monkeys/brass monkey weather
British English spoken informal7 money
