DictionaryAI

nickel

NIK-uhl/ˈnɪk.əl/

Pluralnickels

Verbnickels

12 meanings of nickel

Practice

  1. 1
    nounCanadaUScountable
    A five-cent coin used in the United States.

    Worth the same as five one-cent pennies.

    She found a nickel under the couch cushion.

    He paid for the gum with a nickel and two pennies.

    Note
  2. 2
    noununcountable
    A hard, shiny, silver-white metal used in coins and to make steel stronger.

    Nickel resists rust, so it is often used to coat other metals.

    Many old coins were made mostly of nickel.

    Note
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To cover metal with a thin layer of nickel.

    The workshop will nickel the old door handles to stop them rusting.

    They nickel each part before putting the device together.

    Similarplate

    Note
  4. 4
    nounslangUScountable or uncountable
    A sum of five dollars in everyday slang.

    Can you spot me a nickel? I'll pay you back on Friday.

    He bet a nickel that his team would win the match.

    Similarfiver

    Note
  5. 5
    nouncountable or uncountable
    In American football, a defense using five defensive backs instead of the usual four.

    The coach switched to a nickel on third down.

    They run a nickel whenever the other team puts three receivers on the field.

    Note
  6. 6
    nounslangUScountable or uncountable
    A prison sentence that lasts five years.

    He got a nickel for the robbery and served every day of it.

    She was facing a nickel if the jury found her guilty.

    Note
  7. 7
    nounslangcountable or uncountable
    A playing card ranked five.

    He drew a nickel and discarded it right away.

    She needed a nickel to complete her straight.

    Similarfive

    Note
  8. 8
    nounslangUScountable or uncountable
    A sum of five hundred dollars in slang.

    He paid a nickel for the used motorcycle.

    They split a nickel three ways after the deal.

    Note
  9. 9
    nounslangUScountable or uncountable
    Interstate 5, the highway that runs along the United States west coast.

    We took the nickel all the way from San Diego to Seattle.

    Traffic on the nickel was backed up for miles.

    Note
  10. 10
    nounUKcountable or uncountable
    A propaganda leaflet dropped from an aircraft.

    Bombers dropped thousands of nickels over the occupied towns.

    Each nickel urged the soldiers below to surrender.

    Similarleaflet

    Note
  11. 11
    verbUKtransitive
    To drop propaganda leaflets from an aircraft.

    The crews would nickel the coastal towns before dawn.

    They nickeled the same area twice that week.

    Similarleaflet

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 12
    adjectivedatedidiomaticUS
    Costing very little, or not worth much.

    The carnival sold nickel toys that broke within an hour.

    Those nickel sunglasses fell apart after one summer.

    Similarcheap

    Oppositeexpensive, costly

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of nickel apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From German Nickel, short for Kupfernickel, a mineral name. It combines Kupfer ('copper') with Nickel (a goblin or 'worthless person'), because the ore looked like silver but was nearly worthless.