pinchbeck
noun, adjective
pinchbeck is spelled P-I-N-C-H-B-E-C-K: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pinchbeck means “An alloy of copper and zinc once used as imitation gold for cheap jewelry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pinchbeck is pinchbecks.
How many letters and syllables are in pinchbeck?
| Letters | 9: P-I-N-C-H-B-E-C-K |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 127,184th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pinchbeck?
Pinchbeck appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of pinchbeck
- pinchbecks plural
- more pinchbeck comparative
- most pinchbeck superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pinchbeck mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An alloy of copper and zinc once used as imitation gold for cheap jewelry.
adjective
- 1
Made of pinchbeck.
- 2
Sham; spurious, artificial; being a cheap substitution; only superficially attractive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pinchbeck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense an alloy of copper and zinc:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Talmi, Talmigold |
| Portuguese | pechisbeque, ouro falso |
| Spanish | similor |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pinchbeck come from?
Named after Christopher Pinchbeck, an 18th century London watchmaker who developed the alloy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).