Basic Details
Word: Iron
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A strong, hard grey metal used to make steel; also the household tool that is heated to press clothes.
How to Spell Iron
Syllables: i - ron
Tricky part: It is written i-r-o-n but said 'eye-un', with the r almost silent, so students write iorn or irun.
Watch out for: iorn, irun, eyron
Memory tip: Write it as you see it, not as you hear it: an I standing straight like an iron rod, followed by the name Ron.
Idioms and Phrases
- strike while the iron is hot: act at the best moment, before the chance passes Example: "The shop was offering a discount, so we struck while the iron was hot and bought the cycle."
- have many irons in the fire: be busy with many activities at the same time Example: "Tara has many irons in the fire: dance, chess and the school band."
Usage Examples
Example 1: The old gate was made of heavy iron.
Example 2: Ma pressed my school uniform with a hot iron.
Example 3: Leafy vegetables and jaggery give us iron, which our blood needs.
Fun Fact
The Iron Pillar at the Qutub complex in Delhi is about 1,600 years old and has rusted remarkably little in all that time.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. iron 2. tungstun 3. magnesiem 4. coppar
a) a light silvery metal that burns with a bright white flame
b) a metal once used for the glowing wire in light bulbs
c) a strong grey metal used to make steel
d) a reddish-brown metal used in electric wires
Show answer
c) a strong grey metal used to make steel. Iron is the only metal spelt properly here: copper has two p's, tungsten ends in sten and magnesium in ium.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The blacksmith heated the onir bar until it glowed orange.
a) ring
b) iron
c) iris
d) icon
Show answer
b) iron. A blacksmith works iron; ring needs a g, iris an s and icon a c.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
In the science lab we held a magnet over the pile of sand, and the tiny bits of iorn jumped up and clung to it like a little grey beard.
a) science
b) magnet
c) iorn
d) beard
Show answer
c) iorn. We say eye-un, but the letters run i, r, o, n.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Most of the iron dug out of the ground is turned into ____.
a) glass
b) wool
c) paper
d) steel
Show answer
d) steel
2. The chemical symbol for iron is ____.
a) In
b) Fe
c) I
d) Ir
Show answer
b) Fe
