nugget
noun
a lump of something, as of precious metal.
nugget
American
[nuhg-it]
/ ˈnʌg ɪt /
noun
-
nuggets
plural
-
a lump of something, as of precious metal.
-
a lump of native gold.
-
anything of great value, significance, or the like.
nuggets of wisdom.
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a bite-size piece of chicken, fish, etc., usually batter-fried.
-
Welding. (in a spot-weld) the metal fused.
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Australian.
-
a powerful, heavy animal.
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a strong, thickset man.
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Nugget
1
British
/ ˈnʌɡɪt /
noun
verb
nugget
2
British
/ ˈnʌɡɪt /
noun
-
a small piece or lump, esp of gold in its natural state
-
something small but valuable or excellent
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of nugget
1850–55; perhaps diminutive of obsolete nug small piece, variant of nog 2; see -et
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:
"At first I thought they were €1 coins. But then we also saw a gold nugget lying there. That's when we realised it was something bigger."
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
“I had no idea that eating a 10-piece chicken nugget on a roller coaster would be a national headline, but here we are,” Ferrell told Fox 8 News in Cleveland.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
They include a nugget from the California gold rush; an 1879 lightbulb by Thomas Edison; a mainframe component from ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer that was built in 1946 and weighed 30 tons.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
A comic answer, but one with a nugget of truth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
In his mind, at least, there is no real link between a nugget and a chicken except the name.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
Caesars Entertainment in late May agreed to be acquired by Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta for $5.7 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
"Mountaineer Matt" has never lost hope of discovering "The Big Nugget" -- the one that will make him rich.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2025
Some women in Itaituba, nicknamed Gold Nugget City, have set themselves up in business with the money they made, she says.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2024
Known as the Mojave Nugget, the 156-ounce behemoth was found there with a metal detector in 1977 and now sits on display at the Natural History Museum of L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2024
McCandless then insisted on buying Franz lunch at the Golden Nugget Casino, across the river in Laughlin.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
And while tech journalists and academics might pore over them trying to glean nuggets of meaning, these executive manifestos are not necessarily landing with the general public.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Lee has a trove of nuggets about the collaborations that shaped “Beef.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Strong demand for its chicken breasts and frozen nuggets, and cheap livestock, have helped boost its bottom-line profits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
I wrote a daily newsletter about energy policy at the time, and, in my efforts to be at the forefront of the news, I gobbled up those nuggets as well.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Mom returns with huge bowls of steaming white rice and platters of lemon chicken, sweet-and-sour pork, pepper steak, General Tso’s chicken, and the house special: Mandarin Garden Chicken—fried nuggets in a sweet garlic sauce.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
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.
