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  • gold plate
    gold plate
    noun
    tableware or containers made of gold.
  • gold-plate
    gold-plate
    verb (used with object)
    to coat (base metal) with gold, especially by electroplating.

gold plate

1 American  

noun

  • gold plates
    plural
  1. tableware or containers made of gold.

  2. a plating, especially electroplating, of gold.


gold-plate 2 American  
[gohld-pleyt] / ˈgoʊldˈpleɪt /

verb (used with object)

gold-plated, gold-plating
  1. to coat (base metal) with gold, especially by electroplating.

  2. to incorporate costly features or refinements into (something) unnecessarily.

    The engineers were accused of gold-plating the construction project.


gold plate 1 British  

noun

  1. a thin coating of gold, usually produced by electroplating

  2. vessels or utensils made of gold

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

gold-plate 2 British  

verb

  1. (tr) to coat (other metal) with gold, usually by electroplating

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Both pieces are available in recycled brass, sterling silver and gold plate.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 2, 2022

They then told me a story about how it was known for its gold and silver mines, but after the islanders angered Apollo by sending him tribute made from gold plate, he flooded the mines.

From New York Times Jul. 12, 2017

In a maze of colour and guy-ropes, of tent-pegs and tall spears, of chessplayers and sutlers, of tapestried interiors and of gold plate, Arthur of England had sat down to starve his friend.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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

No more than I think it would be the better," said Aldous, quietly, "if we could do away with gold-plate and false hair to-morrow.

From Marcella by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Hollywood loves shiny new things, and when it comes to the Academy Awards each year, what’s new is often notable — and worthy of shiny gold-plated statues.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 10, 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

But as he arrives back in Washington, the gold-plated receptions abroad are giving way to a shuttered government and deepening voter anxiety about the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 31, 2025

They rolled out everything from gold-plated gifts to golden food during the president’s regional tour.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 29, 2025

Then the store gave me another present: a long, thick- linked, gold-plated chain that swung down lower than my coat hem.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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

The gold-plating was literal for anyone who invested in the deluxe CD.

From BBC Feb. 21, 2012

At Chancery and with the Dedlocks, he lays on the pomp and circumstance as if taking the English language and gold-plating it.

From Time Feb. 7, 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

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