Nickel vs. Silver — What's the Difference?

Nickel is a chemical element with the symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge.

Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin argentum, derived from the Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ: "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal.

A silvery-white metal, the chemical element of atomic number 28.

Symbol Ag A lustrous white, ductile, malleable metallic element, occurring both uncombined and in ores such as argentite, having the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals. It is highly valued for jewelry, tableware, and other ornamental use and is widely used in coinage, photography, dental and soldering alloys, electrical contacts, and printed circuits. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.868; melting point 961.78°C; boiling point 2,162°C; specific gravity 10.50 (20°C); valence 1, 2. See Periodic Table.

A five-cent coin; five cents

This metallic element as a commodity or medium of exchange.

Coat with nickel

Coins made of this metallic element.

Symbol Ni A silvery, hard, ductile, ferromagnetic metallic element used in corrosion-resistant alloys, stainless steel, catalysts for hydrogenation, and batteries, and for electroplating. Atomic number 28; atomic weight 58.69; melting point 1,455°C; boiling point 2,913°C; specific gravity 8.902; valence 0, 1, 2, 3. See Periodic Table.

A medal made of silver awarded to one placing second in a competition, as in the Olympics.

A coin of the United States or Canada worth five cents.

Domestic articles, such as tableware, made of or plated with silver.

To coat with nickel.

Tableware, especially eating and serving utensils, made of steel or another metal.

(uncountable) A silvery elemental metal with an atomic number of 28 and symbol Ni.

A lustrous medium gray.

A coin worth 5 cents.

A silver salt, especially silver nitrate, used to sensitize paper.

Five dollars.

Made of or containing silver

Five hundred dollars.

Resembling silver, especially in having a lustrous shine; silvery.

Interstate 5, a highway that runs along the west coast of the United States.

Of a lustrous medium gray

(slang) A playing card with the rank of five

Having a soft, clear, resonant sound.

A five-year prison sentence.

Eloquent; persuasive

(American football) A defensive formation with five defensive backs, one of whom is a nickelback, instead of the more common four.

Favoring the adoption of silver as a standard of currency

An airborne propaganda leaflet.

Of or constituting a 25th anniversary.

Synonym of cheap: Low price and/or low value.

To cover, plate, or adorn with silver or a similar lustrous substance.

(transitive) To plate with nickel.

To give a silver color to.

To distribute airborne leaflet propaganda.

To coat (photographic paper) with a film of silver nitrate or other silver salt.

A bright silver-white metallic element of atomic number 28. It is of the iron group, and is hard, malleable, and ductile. It occurs combined with sulphur in millerite, with arsenic in the mineral niccolite, and with arsenic and sulphur in nickel glance. Symbol Ni. Atomic weight 58.70.

To become silvery.

A small coin made of or containing nickel; esp., a five-cent piece.

(uncountable) A lustrous, white, metallic element, atomic number 47, atomic weight 107.87, symbol Ag.

A hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite

Coins made from silver or any similar white metal.

A United States coin worth one twentieth of a dollar

Cutlery and other eating utensils, whether silver or made from some other white metal.

Five dollars worth of a drug;

Any items made from silver or any other white metal.

Plate with nickel;

(uncountable) A shiny gray color.

(countable) a silver medal

Anything resembling silver; something shiny and white.

Made from silver.

Made from another white metal.

Having a color like silver: a shiny gray.

Denoting the twenty-fifth anniversary, especially of a wedding.

(of commercial services) Premium, but inferior to gold.

Having the clear, musical tone of silver; soft and clear in sound.

To acquire a silvery colour.

To cover with silver, or with a silvery metal.

To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver.

To make hoary, or white, like silver.

A soft white metallic element, sonorous, ductile, very malleable, and capable of a high degree of polish. It is found native, and also combined with sulphur, arsenic, antimony, chlorine, etc., in the minerals argentite, proustite, pyrargyrite, ceragyrite, etc. Silver is one of the "noble" metals, so-called, not being easily oxidized, and is used for coin, jewelry, plate, and a great variety of articles. Symbol Ag (Argentum). Atomic weight 107.7. Specific gravity 10.5.

Coin made of silver; silver money.

Anything having the luster or appearance of silver.

The color of silver.

Of or pertaining to silver; made of silver; as, silver leaf; a silver cup.

Resembling silver.

Precious; costly.

To cover with silver; to give a silvery appearance to by applying a metal of a silvery color; as, to silver a pin; to silver a glass mirror plate with an amalgam of tin and mercury.

To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver.

To make hoary, or white, like silver.

To acquire a silvery color.

A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography

Coins made of silver

A light shade of gray

Silverware eating utensils

A medal made of silver (or having the appearance of silver) that is usually awarded for winning second place in a competition

Coat with a layer of silver or a silver amalgam;

Make silver in color;

Turn silver;

Made from or largely consisting of silver;

Having the white lustrous sheen of silver;

Lustrous gray; covered with or tinged with the color of silver;

Expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively;