nickel

American  

[nik-uhl] / ˈnɪk əl /

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.

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verb (used with object)

nickeled, nickeling, nickelled, nickelling

1. to cover or coat with nickel; nickel-plate.

adjective

1. Slang. costing or worth five dollars.

   a nickel bag of heroin.

nickel British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to plate with nickel

nickel Scientific  

/ nĭk′əl /

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.

2. See Periodic Table

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nickel Idioms  

1. see not worth a dime (plugged nickel).

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Usage

What else does nickel mean? Nickel is a slang term for "five" of anything, especially a small bag of drugs costing five dollars or five-year prison sentence.

Etymology

Origin of nickel

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

Example Sentences

Sulphur is used to make sulphuric acid, which is used for processing copper, cobalt and nickel and also for the extraction of lithium.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Concentrations of beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel and lead in particular were significantly above established safety thresholds for marine life, prompting fears for the long-term health of fish, marine mammals and the marine food chain.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

Ehrlich chose the five metals—chromium, copper, nickel, tin and tungsten—and took the bet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Researchers addressed these issues by introducing a nickel alloy-based intermediate layer.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026

Then he tried to focus his eyes so that he could read the mottoes on the nickel and dime.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers