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View synonyms for nickel

nickel

[ nik-uhl ]

noun

  1. Chemistry. a hard, silvery-white, ductile and malleable metallic element, allied to iron and cobalt, not readily oxidized: used chiefly in alloys, in electroplating, and as a catalyst in organic synthesis. : Ni; : 58.71; : 28; : 8.9 at 20°C.
  2. a cupronickel coin of the U.S., the 20th part of a dollar, equal to five cents.
  3. a nickel coin of Canada, the 20th part of a dollar, equal to five cents.


verb (used with object)

, nick·eled, nick·el·ing or (especially British) nick·elled, nick·el·ling.
  1. to cover or coat with nickel; nickel-plate.

adjective

  1. Slang. costing or worth five dollars:

    a nickel bag of heroin.

nickel

/ ˈnɪkəl /

noun

  1. a malleable ductile silvery-white metallic element that is strong and corrosion-resistant, occurring principally in pentlandite and niccolite: used in alloys, esp in toughening steel, in electroplating, and as a catalyst in organic synthesis. Symbol: Ni; atomic no: 28; atomic wt: 58.6934; valency: 0, 1, 2, or 3; relative density: 8.902; melting pt: 1455°C; boiling pt: 2914°C
  2. a US and Canadian coin and monetary unit worth five cents


verb

  1. tr to plate with nickel

nickel

/ nĭkəl /

  1. A silvery, hard, ductile metallic element that occurs in ores along with iron or magnesium. It resists oxidation and corrosion and is used to make alloys such as stainless steel. It is also used as a coating for other metals. Atomic number 28; atomic weight 58.69; melting point 1,453°C; boiling point 2,732°C; specific gravity 8.902; valence 0, 1, 2, 3.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of nickel1

1745–55; < Swedish, abstracted from kopparnickel < German Kupfernickel niccolite, literally, copper demon (so called because though looking like copper it yielded none); Nickel demon, special use of short form of Nikolaus proper name. Old Nick, pumpernickel

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Word History and Origins

Origin of nickel1

C18: shortened form of German Kupfernickel niccolite , literally: copper demon, so called by miners because it was mistakenly thought to contain copper

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Idioms and Phrases

see not worth a dime (plugged nickel) .

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Example Sentences

I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.

Back then, when you made a movie that lost money, you lost every nickel.

When the popsicle man came around, my mother gave me a nickel.

In them days, you could get two loaves of bread for a nickel.

For every dollar of wealth owned by white folks in the United States today, black folks on average own less than a nickel.

The newsdealer was looking the other way as he made change so Lamb plucked back his nickel.

The following methods of plating iron with nickel and silver appeared in a recent issue of a German paper.

The metal may be brass or copper and finished in nickel, antique, bronze, or given a brush finish.

The shining copper and nickel spoon sank slowly, and the boy paid out about a hundred feet of line.

A MAN told a little girl that he would sell his baby for a nickel.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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