chrome
noun
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chrome
1 American
[krohm]
/ kroʊm /
noun
-
chromium-plated or other bright metallic trim, as on an automobile.
-
(of dyeing) the dichromate of potassium or sodium.
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Photography. a positive color transparency; kodachrome.
-chrome
2
American
chrome
1
British
/ krəʊm /
noun
-
-
another word for chromium, esp when present in a pigment or dye
-
( as modifier )
a chrome dye
-
-
anything plated with chromium, such as fittings on a car body
-
a pigment or dye that contains chromium
verb
-
to plate or be plated with chromium, usually by electroplating
-
to treat or be treated with a chromium compound, as in dyeing or tanning
-chrome
2
British
combining form
Usage
What does -chrome mean? The combining form -chrome is used like a suffix to mean “color.” It is used in many medical and scientific terms, especially in biology and chemistry. The form -chrome comes from the Greek chrôma, meaning “color” and is the source of the words chroma and chrome, among many others. The chemical element chromium is so named for colorful compounds the metal can form. The form -chrome is a variant of chrom- used at the end of words or word elements. Chromo- is another variant of chrom-. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use chrom- article. Closely related to -chrome are the combining forms chromato- and chromat-.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of chrome
1790–1800; < French < Greek chrôma color; chrome ( in defs. 1, 2, 6, 7 ) shortened form of chromium
Explanation
Chrome is a very shiny layer of metallic coating that's applied to a metal surface. When you clean your bathroom, you might polish the chrome faucet until it gleams. Some cars have chrome details, like a chrome bumper or chrome wheels, and kitchen and bathroom fixtures can be made of chrome as well. Rather than being one type of solid metal, things made of chrome are generally coated with chromium plate as a protective or decorative layer. The word chrome comes from the element chromium, which is rooted in the Greek khroma, "color."
Vocabulary lists containing chrome
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
More than 600 people work at the site, which manufactures about 400,000 tonnes of tin, chrome and coated steels for the packaging industry every year.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026
Few automobile exteriors are ever finished like this, with its broad, sterling-like chrome garnishes at the lower grille intakes, the rocker panels, exhaust outlets and bumpers, all smoothed perfectly into the blown-glass curvatures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
In 1958, as automakers were giving us gas-swigging engines, chrome, and big fins, L.A’.s mayor, Norris Poulson, canceled the order for a Cadillac as his official car, and bought a Rambler instead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
A few additions are purely Adams including some of the photos she took and had framed and a set of modern chrome cat bowls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
He is covered with Parisian soot and grime, overlaid with splatters and spatters of paint: ochre, brick red, orange, lemon chrome, cobalt blue, green, black, zinc white.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
As it ought to be, the interior is spectacular, with traditional eyeball vents and chromed organ-pull dampers sharing space with discretely deployed digital displays and other modern conveniences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
One half was chromed, the other stainless steel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
They also incorporate approximations of architectural forms in miniature ranging from cylindrical brick smokestacks to a chromed arch mimicking St. Louis’s famed Gateway Arch, a monument to westward expansion designed by Eero Saarinen.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
Fernández’s show features four 2019 works from her “Dark Earth” series, chromed metal panels inscribed with horizontal lines and sketched with mountain scenes rendered in multiple media, notably chunky charcoal.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2021
Cross-dye drab, 5 lb. soda crystals and 80 lb. salt, work at the boil for an hour, then lift, wash well and dry; this can be chromed if desired.
From The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics A Practical Handbook for the Dyer and Student by Beech, Franklin
Gonzalez explained that the steel is far cheaper than chroming, but few customers ask for it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
After migrating to the United States as a teenager, Rodriguez so wanted to work at a chroming facility that he started by cleaning bathrooms and delivering parts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
Platers will have to switch to less toxic — and less shiny, and more expensive — chroming material, something Rodriguez doesn’t think his peers and customers will embrace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2023
When all the stripping, chroming, raking, molding, metal flaking and polishing are done, a chopper, righteously gleaming from fishtail exhaust to brakeless front wheel, may have cost its owner $5,000 in materials and labor.
From Time Magazine Archive
By coupling, chroming or developing, the direct blacks can be made to give full, deep and fast blacks, and examples of their use in this manner will be found in following sections.
From The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics A Practical Handbook for the Dyer and Student by Beech, Franklin
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.
