1. plural of mettle; courage, fortitude, or strength of character

1. third-person singular present tense of mettle; to test or challenge someone's courage or abilities
Usage: rare; primarily used in the phrase 'to be on one's mettle'

Examples

• The team showed their mettles by fighting back from a 20-point deficit.
• She proved her mettles when she stood up to the bully.
• The difficult exam mettles students' problem-solving abilities.
• His mettles were tested during the crisis.
• They demonstrated their true mettles in the face of adversity.
• The coach mettles his players with intense training sessions.