a chemical element that is a valuable shiny, white metal, used for making cutlery (= knives, spoons, etc.), jewellery, coins, and decorative objects:We gave them a dish made of solid silver as a wedding present.Cleaning the silver (= silver objects) is a dirty job.Shall we use the silver (= knives, spoons, plates, etc. made of silver) for dinner tonight?UK I need some silver (= coins made of silver or a metal of similar appearance) for the ticket machine in the car park.