English

A gold nugget (small, compact chunk).

Noun

nugget ‎(countable and uncountable, plural nuggets)

1. (countable) A small, compact chunk or clump.

   a gold nugget

2. (countable) A tidbit of something valuable.

   a nugget of wisdom

3. (uncountable) A type of boot polish.
4. (countable) A bud from the Cannabis sativa plant. Usually implies dankness.
5. (countable, slang) An inexperienced, newly trained fighter pilot.
   • 2009, Nick Scipio, Nereids:

     Jack stifled a smirk at the ensign's expressionless non-reaction. He'd been a nugget himself once, the new guy fresh from training.

6. (computing theory) A partial description gleaned from data mining.
   • 2002, Data Mining: A Heuristic Approach (page 93)

     We have previously said that the heuristic algorithms produce good nuggets for most classes and most λ values […]

Derived terms

• nuggety
• chicken nugget

Translations

Portuguese

Fast food chicken nuggets from McDonald's.

Etymology

Borrowing from English nugget

Noun

nugget m (plural nuggets)

1. chicken nugget

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:nugget.