What does nickel mean?
Nickel is most familiarly the name of a five-cent coin, a term especially familiar in the United States and Canada. It can also denote a hard, silvery-white metallic element that resists corrosion and is valuable in alloys, electroplating, batteries, and coin production. In informal American usage, nickel is also a verb meaning to steal or cheat someone out of something. The vocabulary is therefore both concrete and figurative: a nickel may be a small piece of money, a component in an industrial material, or the target of a petty theft. Although the word once referred specifically to a coin, the metal sense is now equally important in scientific, manufacturing, and commercial contexts.
A five-cent coin, especially in the United States and Canada.
"She dropped a nickel into the charity box."
The coin sense is particularly common in North American English.
A hard, silvery-white metallic element, atomic number 28, used in alloys, plating, batteries, and coinage.
"The connector is made of nickel for its corrosion resistance."
This is the technical and industrial sense of the word.
To steal something, especially in a petty or opportunistic way.
"Someone tried to nickel the convenience store."
Informal, especially in American English.
The plural is used for five-cent coins and, in less formal contexts, for instances of stealing.
"The machine accepts nickels and quarters."
The name nickel comes from miners' “copper demon”: German miners once mistook an ore containing copper, nickel, and other metals for pure copper.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nickel come from?
The English word entered through German Kupfernickel, literally “copper demon,” a miners’ term for an ore that was difficult to distinguish from copper. The German word combined Kupfer, “copper,” with Nikola, a traditional name used for a mischievous mine spirit or demon. English borrowed the term in the sixteenth century for the metal, and the name of the five-cent coin developed later in the nineteenth century, likely by analogy with the small silver coins that preceded it.
Related word forms
How nickel is actually used
As a verb meaning to steal, nickel is informal and particularly associated with American English. As a noun, the coin sense is especially common in North American English, while the metal sense is used in technical and industrial contexts worldwide.
Easily confused with nickel
Nickel is a metal or coin, whereas a knuckle is a joint in the finger or a blow made with the hand.