pinchbeck
an alloy of copper and zinc, used in imitation of gold.
something sham, spurious, or counterfeit.
made of pinchbeck.
sham, spurious, or counterfeit: pinchbeck heroism.
Origin of pinchbeck
1Words Nearby pinchbeck
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pinchbeck in a sentence
Daphne's pink-and-black vivacity beside her seemed a pinchbeck thing.
Marriage la mode | Mrs. Humphry WardHe can likewise tell if pinchbeck is or not a good mixture of copper and brass of equal proportion!
It was a pinchbeck world, of pretence and pull,—that world that lies drowned out there.
The Master-Knot of Human Fate | Ellis MeredithHe preached every third Sabbath at pinchbeck, near Spalding, to which place he subsequently removed.
Memorials of the Independent Churches in Northamptonshire | Thomas ColemanA paste pin in a faded cravat, and a jaunty cane with a pinchbeck top, betrayed that he was still somewhat of a beau.
In the Days of My Youth | Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards
British Dictionary definitions for pinchbeck
/ (ˈpɪntʃˌbɛk) /
an alloy of copper and zinc, used as imitation gold
a spurious or cheap imitation; sham
made of pinchbeck
sham, spurious, or cheap
Origin of pinchbeck
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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