# nugget

/ˈnəɡɪt/ (US) · /nˈʌɡɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/nugget
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. a small lump of metal

noun · CEFR B1

a small, solid piece of a precious metal, like gold, found in the earth.

For teachers: a small, naturally occurring lump of a precious metal, especially gold.

- The miner was lucky enough to find a large gold nugget in the river.
- Early prospectors often spent months panning through silt in hopes of discovering a single substantial nugget of gold.

### 2. food

noun · CEFR A2

a small piece of chicken or fish that is covered in breadcrumbs and fried.

For teachers: a small, bite-sized piece of poultry or fish, typically breaded and deep-fried.

- The children asked for chicken nuggets and fries for lunch.
- The fast-food chain recently introduced a plant-based nugget to appeal to the growing number of vegetarian customers.

### 3. a piece of information

noun · CEFR B2

a short but very useful or interesting piece of information.

For teachers: a brief, isolated, and highly valuable or interesting piece of information or wisdom.

- His speech was full of interesting nuggets of history.
- The documentary provides several fascinating nuggets of information regarding the private life of the reclusive author.

### 4. inexperienced pilot

noun · CEFR C1 · Slang · American English

a new and inexperienced pilot, especially in the military.

For teachers: a slang term for a newly qualified or inexperienced naval aviator or fighter pilot.

- The veteran pilots gave the new nugget a hard time during his first week.
- Landing on a carrier deck at night is a daunting task for any nugget fresh out of flight school.

### 5. cannabis bud

noun · CEFR C2 · Slang

a high-quality flower or bud from a cannabis plant.

For teachers: a dense, potent bud of the cannabis plant.

- He showed his friends the dense nuggets he had just bought.
- The quality of the harvest was evident in the size and resin content of the dried nuggets.

### 6. to search for gold

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

to search for or find small pieces of gold.

For teachers: to search for or successfully extract nuggets of precious metal.

- They spent the whole summer nuggeting in the old creek bed.
- Geological surveys indicated the area had been heavily nuggeted during the nineteenth-century gold rush.

## Examples

- The miner found a small gold nugget in the river.
- The podcast was full of interesting nuggets of advice for new business owners.
- While the lecture was long and dry, it contained several nuggets of historical insight that proved invaluable for my research paper.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.