Meanings
comparative more copper-bottomed · superlative most copper-bottomed
- especiallyliteralHaving lower parts made of or covered by copper.
According to Robert Hulse, 'It's half worm, half mollusc, and there are more dead men at the bottom of the sea as a result of those things [shipworms] than all the naval battles put together. They're the reason you had copper-bottomed ships'.
2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 88 - UKidiomaticThoroughly reliable; secure.
The copper-bottomed angel at Messrs. Paff’s in Broadway.
1807, Washington Irving, Salmagundi
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehaving a bottom of copper or sheathed with copper
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From the copper sheathing applied to the bottom of a wooden ship to prevent damage from marine organisms. In literal sense 18th century, in figurative sense attested since at least 1807. The British idiomatic use comes from the fact that with Britain being a major naval power, there was always a ready market for copper in ship construction, making it a reliable commodity to invest in.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Irish coparthónach
- coparthónachhaving a copper bottom
Polish z miedzianym dnem, solidny
- z miedzianym dnemhaving a copper bottom
- solidnyreliable
- trwałyreliable
Cite this entry
copper-bottomed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/copper-bottomed
“copper-bottomed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/copper-bottomed. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “copper-bottomed,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/copper-bottomed.
Source: copper-bottomed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.