pinchbeck

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɪntʃˌbɛk/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(pinch′bek)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pinch•beck  (pinch′bek),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Metallurgyan alloy of copper and zinc, used in imitation of gold.
  2. something sham, spurious, or counterfeit.

adj. 
  1. Metallurgymade of pinchbeck.
  2. sham, spurious, or counterfeit:pinchbeck heroism.
  • named after Christopher Pinchbeck (died 1732), English watchmaker and its inventor 1725–35

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pinchbeck / ˈpɪntʃˌbɛk/
  1. an alloy of copper and zinc, used as imitation gold
  2. a spurious or cheap imitation; sham
  1. made of pinchbeck
  2. sham, spurious, or cheap
Etymology: 18th Century (the alloy), C19 (something spurious): after Christopher Pinchbeck (?1670–1732), English watchmaker who invented it

Forum discussions with the word(s) "pinchbeck" in the title:


Look up "pinchbeck" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "pinchbeck" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.