Real Dictionary

zinc
uncountable noun: Zinc is a bluish-white metal which is used to make other metals such as brass, or to cover other metals such as iron to stop a brown substance called rust from forming.

zinc in American English
a bluish-white, metallic chemical element, usually found in combination, used as a protective coating for iron, as a constituent in various alloys, as an electrode in electric batteries, and, in the form of salts, in medicines: symbol, Zn; at. no., 30
to coat or treat with zinc; galvanize
noun: a ductile, bluish-white metallic element: used in making galvanized iron, brass, and other alloys, and as an element in voltaic cells; at. wt.: 65.37; at. no.: 30; sp. gr.: 7.14 at 20°C
transitive verb: to coat or cover with zinc

zinc in Automotive Engineering
noun: Zinc is a bluish-white metal which is used to make other metals, or to cover other metals, such as steel, as a protective coating.

zinc in British English
noun: a brittle bluish-white metallic element that becomes coated with a corrosion-resistant layer in moist air and occurs chiefly in sphalerite and smithsonite. It is a constituent of several alloys, esp brass and nickel-silver, and is used in die-casting, gal