nickel
Chemistry. a hard, silvery-white, ductile and malleable metallic element, allied to iron and cobalt, not readily oxidized: used chiefly in alloys, in electroplating, and as a catalyst in organic synthesis. Symbol: Ni; atomic weight: 58.71; atomic number: 28; specific gravity: 8.9 at 20°C.
a cupronickel coin of the U.S., the 20th part of a dollar, equal to five cents.
a nickel coin of Canada, the 20th part of a dollar, equal to five cents.
to cover or coat with nickel; nickel-plate.
Slang. costing or worth five dollars: a nickel bag of heroin.
Origin of nickel
1Words Nearby nickel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nickel in a sentence
Somewhere, a defensive coach is going to yell when I say this, but for a variety of reasons, the new base is nickel defense.
In modern defensive fronts, the names have been changed | Richard Johnson | November 23, 2020 | Washington PostHe thinks that, when Collins returns, Curl could return to being a versatile chess piece, as he was as the big nickel cornerback earlier this season.
Washington football notes: Run-stop struggles, and the future at quarterback | Sam Fortier | November 10, 2020 | Washington PostFrom the seller’s perspective they won’t be “nickeled and dimed” over minor issues that may come up and you reserve the right to cancel for any reason.
How to win a multiple offer battle when buying a home in D.C. | Khalil Alexander El-Ghoul | November 6, 2020 | Washington BladeIn 2012, Takeuchi and colleagues measured a temperature change of 17 degrees Celsius in nickel-titanium wires.
Bundling all these in a slightly more expensive package would alleviate the issue without resorting to this nickel and dime approach on what’s marketed as a budget-minded device.
Microsoft's Pint-Sized Surface Go 2 Is a Deceptively Cheap Budget Laptop | Patrick Lucas Austin | May 11, 2020 | Time
I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBack then, when you made a movie that lost money, you lost every nickel.
The Director Isn’t Done Yet: An Interview With Steven Soderbergh | Andrew Romano | August 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen the popsicle man came around, my mother gave me a nickel.
James Lee Burke Talks About His Fiction, History, and the American Dream | David Masciotra | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn them days, you could get two loaves of bread for a nickel.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis | Stanley Booth | June 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor every dollar of wealth owned by white folks in the United States today, black folks on average own less than a nickel.
Eight Things Every White Person Should Know About White Privilege | Sally Kohn | May 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe newsdealer was looking the other way as he made change so Lamb plucked back his nickel.
The following methods of plating iron with nickel and silver appeared in a recent issue of a German paper.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | VariousThe metal may be brass or copper and finished in nickel, antique, bronze, or given a brush finish.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | VariousThe shining copper and nickel spoon sank slowly, and the boy paid out about a hundred feet of line.
The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries | Francis Rolt-WheelerA MAN told a little girl that he would sell his baby for a nickel.
Light On the Child's Path | William Allen Bixler
British Dictionary definitions for nickel
/ (ˈnɪkəl) /
a malleable ductile silvery-white metallic element that is strong and corrosion-resistant, occurring principally in pentlandite and niccolite: used in alloys, esp in toughening steel, in electroplating, and as a catalyst in organic synthesis. Symbol: Ni; atomic no: 28; atomic wt: 58.6934; valency: 0, 1, 2, or 3; relative density: 8.902; melting pt: 1455°C; boiling pt: 2914°C
a US and Canadian coin and monetary unit worth five cents
(tr) to plate with nickel
Origin of nickel
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for nickel
[ nĭk′əl ]
A silvery, hard, ductile metallic element that occurs in ores along with iron or magnesium. It resists oxidation and corrosion and is used to make alloys such as stainless steel. It is also used as a coating for other metals. Atomic number 28; atomic weight 58.69; melting point 1,453°C; boiling point 2,732°C; specific gravity 8.902; valence 0, 1, 2, 3. See Periodic Table.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with nickel
see not worth a dime (plugged nickel).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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