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• nugget
  nugget

  noun

  a lump of something, as of precious metal.
• Nugget
  Nugget

  noun

  shoe polish

nugget

American  

[nuhg-it] / ˈnʌg ɪt /

noun

nuggets plural

1. a lump of something, as of precious metal.

2. a lump of native gold.

3. anything of great value, significance, or the like.

   nuggets of wisdom.

4. a bite-size piece of chicken, fish, etc., usually batter-fried.

5. Welding. (in a spot-weld) the metal fused.

6. Australian.

   1. a powerful, heavy animal.

   2. a strong, thickset man.

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Nugget ¹ British  

/ ˈnʌɡɪt /

noun

1. shoe polish

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verb

1. informal (tr; sometimes not capital) to shine (shoes)

nugget ² British  

/ ˈnʌɡɪt /

noun

1. a small piece or lump, esp of gold in its natural state

2. something small but valuable or excellent

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nuggety
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nuggets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nugget

1850–55; perhaps diminutive of obsolete nug small piece, variant of nog ²; see -et

Example Sentences

It’s complete with a mashed potato “volcano” that’s oozing with gravy lava, along with dino nugget inhabitants and steamed broccoli for trees.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2026

“I’ve searched imagery of every kind from every facility. I’ve looked up tax records for anything that might have some nugget of information.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026

Then, scroll to the bottom to see how all the teams stack up, and discover a nugget of trivia for each team.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

An alarming nugget buried in the Treasury Department’s annual report External link on the federal government’s books from the last fiscal year: Its long-term liabilities exceed its expected revenue by tens of trillions of dollars.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

He always wore gold watches, gold chains, had a gold slug in the front of his mouth, and wore a gold nugget ring on his pinky.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds