golden calf

American  

[gohl-duhn kaf, kahf] / ˈgoʊl dən ˈkæf, ˈkɑf /

noun

1. Bible.

   1. a golden idol set up by Aaron and worshiped by the ancient Israelites.

   2. either of the two similar idols set up by Jeroboam.

2. money or material goods as an object of worship or pursuit.

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golden calf British  

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. an idol made by Aaron and set up for the Israelites to worship (Exodus 32)

   2. either of two similar idols set up by Jeroboam I at Dan and Bethel in the northern kingdom (I Kings 12:28–30)

2. informal the pursuit or idolization of material wealth

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golden calf Cultural  

1. An idol that the Israelites made during the Exodus. While God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments and other provisions of the Mosaic law on Mount Sinai, the people whom Moses was leading to the Promised Land melted down their gold jewelry and ornaments and built a golden calf, which they began to worship. Moses came down from the mountain carrying two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written; when he saw the calf, he smashed the tablets and made the people destroy the idol.

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By extension, a “golden calf” is any false god or anything worshiped undeservedly.

Etymology

Origin of golden calf

First recorded in 1350–1400

Example Sentences

"Let me say this plainly: this is not a golden calf," he said later that night on X, referring to the Old Testament idol that famously made Moses irate after he received the Commandments.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

Meanwhile, in the rest of Australia, the fate of the golden calf remains an obsession.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2023

Since then, the concept of the worshiping of a "golden calf" has become a stand-in for a supreme act of apostasy, the rejection of a faith once confessed.

From Salon • Nov. 7, 2020

A golden calf in Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron Facebook Twitter Pinterest Golden years: the half-ton bull on stage during Moses und Aron.

From The Guardian • Mar. 29, 2016

Trotter sucked in her breath and glowered down at her like Moses at the Israelites’ golden calf.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson