chrome

1 of 3

noun

ˈkrōm How to pronounce chrome (audio)
1
a
: chromium
b
: a chromium pigment
2
: something plated with an alloy of chromium

chrome

2 of 3

verb

chromed; chroming

transitive verb

1
: to treat with a compound of chromium (as in dyeing)
2
: chromize

-chrome

3 of 3

noun combining form or adjective combining form

ˌkrōm
1
: colored thing
heliochrome
2
: coloring matter
urochrome

Examples of chrome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Other upgrades of note include a new cat back sport exhaust system with chrome black tips and a lowering kit with dampers. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2024 On one side of the sleek structure is a chrome commercial arcade. —Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
Fun fact: The ceremony included a custom fleet of chrome Chevrolet pick-up trucks rigged with spotlights. —Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 26 July 2024 The headlines out of Australia are concerning—chroming can have fatal consequences. —Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 21 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for chrome 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French chrôme, borrowed from Greek chrôma "color" — more at -chrome

Note: Name introduced by the French chemist Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1763-1829) in "Du plomb rouge de Sibérie, et expériences sur le nouveau métal qu'il contient," Journal des mines, Messidor, An V [vol. 6, June-July, 1797], pp. 737-60. Vauquelin notes that a word meaning "color"—originally suggested to him by the mineralogist René-Just Haüy—is fitting for the metal not because it has a distinctive color itself, but because the combinations into which it enters with oxygen (as a green oxide and red acid) are remarkable for their colors.

Verb

derivative of chrome entry 1

Noun combining form or adjective combining form

borrowed from Greek -chrōmos "having a color (of the kind specified by the initial element)," adjective derivative of chrōmat-, chrôma "skin, complexion, color," from chrō- (the base of an s-stem *chrowos-, whence chrṓs "surface of the body, skin, flesh, complexion, color," of obscure origin) + -ma, resultative noun suffix

Note: The form *chrowos- is reconstructed on the basis of Mycenaean a-ko-ro-we-e "without spots" (or "of one color"). While chrṓs can be contracted directly from a nominative *chrowṓs, the Homeric accusative chróa, genitive chroós assume *chrowós-a, *chrowos-ós, with hyphaeresis of the second vowel of the stem.

First Known Use

Noun

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chrome was in 1800

Phrases Containing chrome

Dictionary Entries Near chrome

-chrome

chrome

chrome alum

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Chrome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chrome. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

chrome

noun
ˈkrōm
1
a
: chromium
b
: a chromium pigment
2
: something plated with an alloy of chromium

Medical Definition

chrome

noun
ˈkrōm How to pronounce chrome (audio)
1
: chromium
2
: a chromium pigment

More from Merriam-Webster on chrome

Nglish: Translation of chrome for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of chrome for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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