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  • nickel plate
    nickel plate
    noun
    a thin coating of nickel deposited on the surface of a piece of metal, as by electroplating.
  • nickel-plate
    nickel-plate
    verb (used with object)
    to coat with nickel by electroplating or other process.

nickel plate

1 American  

noun

  1. a thin coating of nickel deposited on the surface of a piece of metal, as by electroplating.


nickel-plate 2 American  
[nik-uhl-pleyt] / ˈnɪk əlˈpleɪt /

verb (used with object)

nickel-plated, nickel-plating
  1. to coat with nickel by electroplating or other process.


nickel plate British  

noun

  1. a thin layer of nickel deposited on a surface, usually by electrolysis

"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

Etymology

Origin of nickel plate1

First recorded in 1870–75

Origin of nickel-plate2

First recorded in 1880–85

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:

The modern flats were delightfully airy, high up in the sun, their floors were hard-wood, their bath-rooms tiled, their kitchens all tempting enamel, and nickel plate, and shining new wood.

From Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby by Norris, Kathleen Thompson

There was a huge fellow the nickel plate on whose cap announced that he was a piano mover.

From Turns about Town by Holliday, Robert Cortes

This film is not a coating added on the outside like paint and enamel or tin and nickel plate.

From Creative Chemistry Descriptive of Recent Achievements in the Chemical Industries by Slosson, Edwin E.

He took out a nickel plate that bore his name.

From The Skipper and the Skipped Being the Shore Log of Cap'n Aaron Sproul by Day, Holman

The description of Barber's brace documents a major technical change: wood to steel, leather washers to ball bearings, and natural patina to nickel plate.

From Woodworking Tools 1600-1900 by Welsh, Peter C.

If it has a bone handle and nickel-plate finish besides, the customer cannot get his money out fast enough.

From Time Magazine Archive

The trick that had to be done was to nickel-plate them inside.

From Time Magazine Archive

"At the worst they can but scratch my beautiful nickel-plate," he said.

From The Marvelous Land of Oz by Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)

That nickel-plate was, I confess, a happy thought," said Nick; "and it was the more necessary because I had become somewhat scratched during my adventurous experiences.

From The Marvelous Land of Oz by Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)

Often Martie and Teddy had their supper at Childs', in the clean warm brightness of marble and nickel-plate.

From Martie, the Unconquered by Norris, Kathleen Thompson

Rogue Paq Poppy Party Ashtray The ultimate host’s ashtray, the Poppy Party Ashtray looks like a beautiful poppy, in polished brass or nickel-plated finishes.

From Salon Apr. 18, 2025

For nearly two decades, karak — an elixir of sugar, dehydrated milk and cardamom-infused tea — has largely been the same price, just one nickel-plated steel dirham coin.

From Seattle Times Aug. 24, 2022

Its rounded lower curve rested in Clark’s lap while he bear-hugged the nickel-plated instrument’s middle and the foot-thick bell horn bloomed above him.

From Washington Post Dec. 22, 2020

He admired the angle of the neck, the chunky thickness of the neck, the nickel-plated screws.

From New York Times Aug. 31, 2018

They were some time acquiring a stove and when they did find what they wanted, a silver-scrolled monster with floriated warming ovens and a front like a nickel-plated tulip garden, they had trouble getting it.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

Faber invented the nickel-plating of pencil tips, pencil point protectors, rubber tips.

From Time Magazine Archive

I invented a new method of nickel-plating, but it did me no good, and then I gave up that line altogether.

From The Nether World by Gissing, George

In the case of nickel-plating, the solution used is made from the double chloride or sulphate of nickel and ammonium, to which salt, sal-ammoniac, &c., may be added.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various

By the time I had discovered that a profusion of nickel-plating, plush, and damask does not compensate for closeness and dust, the train ran into the daylight on the banks of the Sacramento River.

From From Sea to Sea Letters of Travel by Kipling, Rudyard

This is always done in factories where nickel-plating is carried on, but it is inconvenient in the laboratory.

From On Laboratory Arts by Threlfall, Richard

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