pinchbeck C2 Topic:General Vocabulary US /ˈpɪntʃ.bɛk/ UK /ˈpɪntʃ.bek/ See IPA manual Freq #104538 Meanings 1 noun an alloy of copper and zinc formerly used as an imitation of gold The cheap ornament was made of pinchbeck rather than gold. 2 adj sham, inferior, or falsely presented as valuable The critic dismissed the spectacle as pinchbeck grandeur. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an alloy of copper and zinc... imitation gold 2 adj · sham, inferior, or falsely... shamspurious Etymology Named after Christopher Pinchbeck, an 18th century London watchmaker who developed the alloy. Topics General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # pinchbeck **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun, adj **IPA (US):** /ˈpɪntʃ.bɛk/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈpɪntʃ.bek/ **Frequency rank:** 104538 ## Meanings 1. an alloy of copper and zinc formerly used as an imitation of gold 2. sham, inferior, or falsely presented as valuable ## Examples - The cheap ornament was made of pinchbeck rather than gold. - The critic dismissed the spectacle as pinchbeck grandeur. ## Synonyms - imitation gold - sham - spurious ## Etymology Named after Christopher Pinchbeck, an 18th century London watchmaker who developed the alloy. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown