nugget

noun

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

   “a gold nugget”

   “Rough men brought pickle bottles full of nuggets. Mysterious dirty-looking calico bags were opened, disclosing small quantities of water-worn flaky gold, which had been washed out of the beds of rivers with a cradle.”

2. (countable)A chicken nugget.

   “By now, we hope you have said “no” to processed nuggets and fingers. Instead, how about taking some real chicken, tossing it with real eggs, a little tangy mustard, and a crunchy quinoa coating?”

3. (countable)A tidbit of something valuable.

   “a nugget of wisdom”

   “a nugget of truth”

   “As he has in superb works like “The Source” (based on the Afghanistan war logs leaked by Chelsea Manning) and “Sound From the Bench” (which set excerpts from Supreme Court proceedings), Hearne takes these found-text nuggets and gives them music that moves from lushly meditative to frenetic and obsessively repetitive […]”

4. (countable)A small piece of tasty food, a tidbit.
5. (uncountable)A type of boot polish.
6. (countable)A bud from the Cannabis sativa plant, especially one that is potent.
7. (countable, slang)An inexperienced, newly trained fighter pilot.

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

8. (countable, uncountable)A partial description gleaned from data mining.

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

9. (countable, slang)A person with no arms or legs; a basket case.
10. (Australia, countable, slang)An item that is typically old and of dubious quality or poor condition.

verb

1. To find nuggets (of something valuable)

   “The other day, you are told, a fellow nuggetted ten or twenty pounds weight, and, of course, you see no reason why half a hundred weight might not be lying snugly ensconced awaiting the revelations of your pick.”

2. (Australia, New-Zealand, slang)To smear a male's genitals or anus with boot polish or similar substance against his will.

   “Among the complaints to Dart, “blackballing” or “nuggetting” was the most common form of sexual abuse carried out by recruits, and referred to a boy being forcibly held down “while boot polish, toothpaste or another substance was forcibly smeared on his genitals or anal area, sometimes with a hard brush.””