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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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gold plates
plural
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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
“I witnessed the transformation of Melania from gold plate into twenty-four karat gold. I believed she had the heart to match.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2020
Really, the only thing the pickers were interested in was costume jewelry, hoping, I suppose, that accidentally mixed in among the cheap paste jewels and gold plate were real Tiffany and Cartier baubles.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2017
“Shouldn’t wonder if she drove six white horses, ate off gold plate, and wore diamonds and point lace every day. Teddy thinks nothing too good for her,” returned Jo with infinite satisfaction.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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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 Harrison Fisher
Moody’s Ratings, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings have all pronounced SpaceX investment grade, though well below a gold-plated triple-A.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
The first statuettes, introduced at the inaugural ceremony in 1929, were gold-plated solid bronze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 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
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
Beneath this magnificent hat lay a pair of silver spurs with huge gold-plated, star-shaped rowels.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
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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
The company founder, famed for receiving backing from James Caan on Dragons' Den for his patented gold-plating technique, believes it is a pretty simple management premise.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 24, 2013
The gold-plating was literal for anyone who invested in the deluxe CD.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2012
During gold-plating there is a considerable advantage in keeping the electrodes moving or the solution stirred.
From On Laboratory Arts by Richard Threlfall
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.