chrome

noun

\ ˈkrōm \

Definition of chrome

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : chromium

b : a chromium pigment

2 : something plated with an alloy of chromium

chrome

verb

chromed; chroming

Definition of chrome (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

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

2 : chromize

-chrome

noun combining form or adjective combining form

\ ˌkrōm\

Definition of -chrome (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : colored thing heliochrome

2 : coloring matter urochrome

Examples of chrome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Inside, the 1,000 square-foot tap room is all industrial black and chrome, with two dozen seats at a long bar and another 20 or so facing a charred-wood shelf on the facing wall. — Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, "New Fort Lauderdale brewery Orchestrated Minds makes formal debut on Friday," 4 Sep. 2019 One rip-roaring debate was whether the wiper blade arms on one of the cars would have left the factory black or chrome. — Susan Callaway, Los Angeles Times, "Inside the elite, detail-obsessed world of the people who judge the Oscars of classic cars," 29 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chrome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for chrome

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.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for chrome

chrome

noun

English Language Learners Definition of chrome

: a type of metal that is used to cover other metals in order to make them shiny

See the full definition for chrome in the English Language Learners Dictionary

chrome

noun

\ ˈkrōm \

Kids Definition of chrome

1 : chromium

2 : something plated with an alloy of chromium

chrome

noun

\ ˈkrōm \

Medical Definition of chrome

1 : chromium

2 : a chromium pigment

Keep scrolling for more

chrome

Definition of chrome

Examples of chrome in a Sentence

First Known Use of chrome

History and Etymology for chrome

English Language Learners Definition of chrome

Kids Definition of chrome

Medical Definition of chrome

WORD OF THE DAY