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gold plate
gold platenountableware or containers made of gold.
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gold-plate
gold-plateverb (used with object)to coat (base metal) with gold, especially by electroplating.
gold plate
1 Americannoun
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tableware or containers made of gold.
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a plating, especially electroplating, of gold.
verb (used with object)
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to coat (base metal) with gold, especially by electroplating.
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to incorporate costly features or refinements into (something) unnecessarily.
The engineers were accused of gold-plating the construction project.
noun
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a thin coating of gold, usually produced by electroplating
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vessels or utensils made of gold
verb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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:
That set off a fresh attempt to gold plate banking standards for the second time in a generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Fountain, ballpoint and rollerball pens are available — finished in 24-carat gold plate, rhodium, titanium, sterling silver and gunmetal.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
A small gold plate near the bottom identifies Derwin Jr. as the 17th overall pick of the 2018 draft — all true — but selected by the “San Diego” Chargers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
The belt for the 170-pound class rested next to him on a table, the leather-encased gold plate shining as brightly as Usman’s metallic suit lapels and his diamond necklace.
From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2021
They were making boudoirs for her, and taking the tapestries out of his bachelor bedroom to go in hers, and polishing the silver, and sending to the nearest neighbours for the loan of gold plate.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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The Dolce Hanoi Golden Lake Hotel had a makeover last year using a tonne of the metal to gold-plate everything from bath tubs to toilets, all housed behind a gold exterior.
From Reuters ● Dec. 10, 2021
“It’s not to gold-plate it,” Mr. Schumer said.
From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2021
On her graduation day, Hayley’s parents presented her with a leather and gold-plate bracelet, etched with Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2016
It meant the loss of one of his favourite lines: "I've got so much gold I gold-plate my gold" but he maintains he is happy with how the music integrates with the action.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2012
"And his gold-plate," continued Merrihew, pleased with the idea.
From The Lure of the Mask by Fisher, Harrison
Plus, Hodin, 37, a freelance writer who chronicled her “groomzilla” experience for Vogue, admires his gold-plated tastes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
This minaudière from Schiaparelli features a gold-plated metal chain and rhinestone piercing, bringing the idea of a statement bag to levels unheard of.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Although the term is clinically obsolete, examples of male peacocking are as close as the nearest bejeweled Patek Philippe, sterling-silver rodeo belt buckle or jumped-up, gold-plated pickup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
In 2003, to mark his five decades as a radio host, his employer at the time 2UE gave him a gold-plated microphone, which was stolen several years later.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025
She passed a gold-plated bathroom and one room dedicated to Elvis jumpsuits.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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These include industrial waste from microchip manufacturing or from gold-plating processes.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 29, 2024
But that’s before a trio of late stories achieve an alchemical feat, gold-plating the collection’s themes.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2018
They were presented with issues which farmers believed were holding back the industry in Northern Ireland, including the "gold-plating" of regulations by officials and problems obtaining planning permission because of ammonia concerns.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2018
Prisk says the government wills to the gold-plating of legislation from Brussels.
From The Guardian ● May 21, 2012
During gold-plating there is a considerable advantage in keeping the electrodes moving or the solution stirred.
From On Laboratory Arts by Threlfall, Richard
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.