chrome

1 of 3

noun

ˈkrōm 

1

a

: chromium

b

: a chromium pigment

2

: something plated with an alloy of chromium

chrome

2 of 3

verb

chromed; chroming

transitive verb

1

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

2

: chromize

-chrome

3 of 3

noun combining form or adjective combining form

ˌkrōm

1

: colored thing

heliochrome

2

: coloring matter

urochrome

Examples of chrome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The chrome and azul will host the Portland Timbers on Sunday night in the decisive game of their best-of-three first-round playoff series. —Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025

This lamp from his recent CB2 collection takes all the airiness of a Noguchi paper lantern and adds a jolt of chrome and marble for something seriously sexy. —Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 3 Nov. 2025

The Bauhaus-style chrome chair was found at a London flea market. —Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 1 Nov. 2025

Other details include chrome side strikes with glossy black V12 Badging, Scintilla Silver thermos louvres, and fender infills that resemble polished deck hardware on the profile of a superyacht. —Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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.

First Known Use

Noun

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chrome

• chrome green
• chrome yellow

Rhymes for chrome

• brome
• chrome
• comb
• combe
• crome
• dome
• foam
• acrosome
• aerodrome
• catacomb
• centrosome
• chromosome

Kids Definition

chrome

noun

ˈkrōm

1

a

: chromium

b

: a chromium pigment

2

: something plated with an alloy of chromium

Medical Definition

chrome

noun

ˈkrōm 

1

: chromium

2

: a chromium pigment