nickel

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈnɪk.əl/ UK /ˈnɪk.əl/ See IPA manual

Freq #8171

Meanings

1

noun
a coin worth five cents in the United States or Canada

She found a nickel beneath the vending machine.
2

noun
a hard, silvery chemical element that resists corrosion and is used in alloys and plating

The manufacturer added nickel to the steel to improve its resistance to corrosion.
3

verb
to coat a metal object with a thin layer of nickel

The workshop will nickel the fittings before polishing them.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a coin worth five cents in... five-cent piecefive-cent coin

3 verb · to coat a metal object with... nickel-plate

Word family

Derived forms cupronickelferronickelnickel-platednickel-plating

Related forms garnieritekupfernickelniccolitenitinolpentlandite

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

nickel alloy
a metal mixture whose main ingredient is nickel

Noun + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from German Nickel, used by the Swedish mineralogist Axel F. Cronstedt as a shortening of Kupfernickel, from Kupfer ("copper") + Nickel, a nickname for Nikolaus. Miners applied the name to deceptive copper-colored ore that yielded no copper; it was later transferred to the newly identified metal and then to the five-cent coin.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# nickel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈnɪk.əl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈnɪk.əl/
**Frequency rank:** 8171

## Meanings
1. a coin worth five cents in the United States or Canada
2. a hard, silvery chemical element that resists corrosion and is used in alloys and plating
3. to coat a metal object with a thin layer of nickel

## Examples
- She found a nickel beneath the vending machine.
- The manufacturer added nickel to the steel to improve its resistance to corrosion.
- The workshop will nickel the fittings before polishing them.

## Synonyms
- five-cent piece
- five-cent coin

## Derived Forms
- cupronickel
- ferronickel
- nickel-plated
- nickel-plating

## Related Forms
- garnierite
- kupfernickel
- niccolite
- nitinol
- pentlandite

## Etymology
Borrowed from German Nickel, used by the Swedish mineralogist Axel F. Cronstedt as a shortening of Kupfernickel, from Kupfer ("copper") + Nickel, a nickname for Nikolaus. Miners applied the name to deceptive copper-colored ore that yielded no copper; it was later transferred to the newly identified metal and then to the five-cent coin.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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