noun

nugget

NUHG-it/ˈnʌɡɪt/

A small solid lump or piece.

The small gold nugget lies beside a coin that shows its scale.

One small, irregular gold nugget beside a plain coin for scale, emphasizing its compact, solid lump shape rather than a crystal, ingot, or piece of jewelry.

Etymology

Nugget probably comes from dialectal nug, “lump,” whose origin is unknown; another theory connects it with “an ingot.” Its earliest recorded meaning was specifically a lump of gold.

In context

POP VIDEOS6:11

until you get down to just the black sand and hopefully some nice gold even a small nugget like that

DISCOVERY OF THE MOTHER LODE VEINS- Most amazing gold find

More examples

She dips a chicken nugget into barbecue sauce.
The cookies contain little nuggets of dark chocolate.
His advice includes a few nuggets of wisdom.

Forms

nugget · nuggets

Similar words

lump: A general solid mass, not necessarily small or valuable.
chunk: Usually a thick piece cut or broken from something larger.