A metal having an extremely high melting point, for example, tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, chromium, vanadium, and rhenium. In the broad sense, this term refers to metals having melting points above the range for iron, cobalt, and nickel.
Metals such as tungsten, titanium, and molybdenum which are capable of withstanding extremely high, or refractory, temperatures.