babbitt metal

noun

variants or less commonly babbit metal

sometimes capitalized B

: either of two alloys used for lining bearings:

a

: a tin-base alloy

especially : one containing 2 to 8 percent copper and 5 to 15 percent antimony

b

: a lead-base alloy containing 1 to 10 percent tin and 10 to 15 percent antimony with or without some arsenic

Word History

Etymology

after Isaac Babbitt †1862 American inventor

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

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