gold medal

American  

noun

gold medals plural

1. a medal, traditionally of gold or gold color, awarded to a person or team finishing first in a competition, meet, or tournament; championship medal.

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gold medal British  

noun

1. a medal of gold, awarded to the winner of a competition or race Compare silver medal bronze medal

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gold medalist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gold medals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gold medal

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gold medal

On Thursday evening at Scotstoun Stadium she will finally stand top of the podium and receive that gold medal.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

She was on the podium plenty of times in a breakthrough 2025, but not in a senior event with a gold medal around her neck.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

At 17, she won a gold medal in speed climbing last week at the USU19 National Championship in Salt Lake City.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

When the college awarded him its gold medal, Hockney accepted the honor wearing a gold lamé jacket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Only one of his 1932 Olympic gold medal crew still rowed for California, and his varsity lineup was turning in indifferent times at best.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown