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• chrome
  chrome

  noun

  chromium.
• -chrome
  -chrome

  variant of chrom- as the final element of a compound word.

chrome

¹ American  

[krohm] / kroʊm /

noun

1. chromium.

2. chromium-plated or other bright metallic trim, as on an automobile.

3. (of dyeing) the dichromate of potassium or sodium.

4. Photography. a positive color transparency; kodachrome.

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verb (used with object)

chromed, chroming

1. (of dyeing) to subject to a bath of dichromate of potassium or sodium.

2. to plate (metal) with a compound of chromium.

3. to treat or tan (a hide or leather) with a chromium compound.

-chrome ² American  

1. variant of chrom- as the final element of a compound word.

   polychrome.

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chrome ¹ British  

/ krəʊm /

noun

1. 1. another word for chromium, esp when present in a pigment or dye

   2. ( as modifier )

      a chrome dye

2. anything plated with chromium, such as fittings on a car body

3. a pigment or dye that contains chromium

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verb

1. to plate or be plated with chromium, usually by electroplating

2. to treat or be treated with a chromium compound, as in dyeing or tanning

-chrome ² British  

combining form

1. colour, coloured, or pigment

   monochrome

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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

• multichrome
  noun
• unchromed
  adjective

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chrome chromed chroming

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

Silver and chrome ore output rose, it added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

The droid doesn’t have a face, just that George Lucas-designed chrome head that looks like a drawing of a Borzoi from memory.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2025

For “Paparazzi,” Gaga wore a chrome helmet and hobbled down a long runway using a pair of chrome crutches, the train of her dress billowing heroically behind her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2025

For some reason, in my fever dream he’s clutching a cheap chrome trophy.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

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

Chrome mordanted wool should be dyed without delay, as it is rather sensitive to light, especially the yellow sort, which gradually changes into the green sort of chromed wool.

From The Dyeing of Woollen Fabrics by Beech, Franklin

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

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

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

Lift, rinse well, then pass into a chroming bath, made from 5 lb. bichromate of potash and 3 lb. sulphuric acid, used at 160° F. for twenty minutes, then lift, wash well and dry.

From The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics A Practical Handbook for the Dyer and Student by Beech, Franklin