“贵金属”常见的英文表达是 “precious metal” ,复数形式为 “precious metals” 。
“precious” 意思是“珍贵的;贵重的” ,“metal” 意为“金属”,二者组合起来就表示具有高价值、较为稀有的金属,如金(gold)、银(silver)、铂(platinum)、钯(palladium)等。
例如:
Precious metals like gold and silver are often used as a store of value.(像黄金和白银这样的贵金属常被用作价值储存手段。)
The jewelry is made of precious metals.(这些珠宝是由贵金属制成的。)