# nickel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈnɪk.əl/ · frequency rank #9,370

## Definitions
1. A silvery elemental metal with an atomic number of 28 and symbol Ni.
2. A coin worth 5 cents.
3. Five dollars.
4. Five hundred dollars.
5. Interstate 5, a highway that runs along the west coast of the United States.
6. A playing card with the rank of five
7. A five-year prison sentence.
8. A defensive formation with five defensive backs, one of whom is a nickelback, instead of the more-common four.
9. An airborne propaganda leaflet.

## Etymology
Borrowed from German Nickel, first used in a text by the Swedish mineralogist Axel F. Cronstedt as an abbreviation of Kupfernickel (“a mineral containing copper and nickel”), from Kupfer (“copper”) + Nickel (“insignificant person, goblin”), originally nickname of Nikolaus (“Nicholas”), due to the deceptive silver colour of the relatively valueless ore. Compare cobalt as related to kobolds.

## Easily confused with
- **Nike** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nike)
- **Nigel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nigel)
- **Nicky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nicky)
- **nicks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nicks)
- **Nicol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nicol)
- **Nikkei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nikkei)
- **Nickels** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nickel-vs-nickels)
- **nice** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nice-vs-nickel)
- **nick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nick-vs-nickel)
- **niche** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/niche-vs-nickel)
- **nicely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nicely-vs-nickel)
- **necked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/necked-vs-nickel)
- **nicked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nicked-vs-nickel)

## Common misspellings (9)
`inckel`, `ncikel`, `nicckel`, `nicekl`, `nickell`, `nickkel`, `nickle`, `nikcel`, `nnickel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nickel