gold-plating

[ gohld-pley-ting ]

noun

1. the incorporation of costly and unnecessary features or refinements into a product or structure.
2. any expensive nonessential item, convenience, or feature:

   an apartment with a sauna and other gold-plating.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gold-plating¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

These include industrial waste from microchip manufacturing or from gold-plating processes.

From Science Daily

“You make sure the global standard is as good as you want it to be and need it to be as a regulator, and then you would try and limit to the extent possible any gold-plating,” Adams said.

From Reuters

LeRoy, the subsidies watchdog, called it “gold-plating the public amenities around a small number of private properties.”

From Washington Post

But that’s before a trio of late stories achieve an alchemical feat, gold-plating the collection’s themes.

From New York Times

They were presented with issues which farmers believed were holding back the industry in Northern Ireland, including the "gold-plating" of regulations by officials and problems obtaining planning permission because of ammonia concerns.

From BBC