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Definition of "pinchbeck" [pinch•beck]

  • An alloy of zinc and copper used as imitation gold. (noun)
  • A cheap imitation. (noun)
  • Made of pinchbeck. (adjective)
  • Imitation; spurious. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "pinchbeck" in a sentence
  • "To-day we analyse ruthlessly thy metre, proclaiming it the butterwoman's rank to market, and thy sentiment, which we dub pinchbeck, and we remember that the Union Jack is used only in the"
  • "They were ladies of lofty ambition, who for that reason were incapable of taking the least interest in what might be called the 'pinchbeck' things of life, even when they had an historic value, or, generally speaking, in anything that was not directly associated with some object aesthetically precious."
  • "_Lays_ as "pinchbeck"; and I am rather disposed to think that he took this opportunity for a sort of sally in flank."