gold standard

American  

noun

1. a monetary system with gold of specified weight and fineness as the unit of value.

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gold standard British  

noun

1. a monetary system in which the unit of currency is defined with reference to gold

2. the supreme example of something against which others are judged or measured

   the current gold standard for breast cancer detection

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gold standard Cultural  

1. A system in which a nation's currency has a value measured in gold and can be exchanged for gold. Most nations, including the United States, went off the gold standard in the 1930s.

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Etymology

Origin of gold standard

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

First, a reminder of how we got here: The IMF was created in 1945 when the world was on the gold standard and there was a need to backstop industrial countries facing temporary balance-of-payment issues.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

In fact, industrials, consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks all currently have higher valuations based on the P/E ratio, which is considered the gold standard of Wall Street valuation metrics.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

The same month, Novo filed a lawsuit against Hims for selling what General Counsel John Kuckelman called “knockoff versions of Wegovy and Ozempic that evade the Food and Drug Administration’s gold standard review process.”

From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026

“So much for the dollar losing its safe-haven status. The U.S. is still the gold standard on where to invest,” says Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Or do you suppose this is a red herring and that the abandonment of the gold standard is at the root of the matter?'

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro