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

See Examples For:

gold standard

Colonoscopy is still considered the gold standard because it allows doctors to identify cancer and remove precancerous polyps during the same procedure.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

Journalist Rory Smith suggested some players based abroad may benefit from avoiding the Premier League's weekly "grind" - though argued that Europe's elite clubs increasingly view it as the "gold standard".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

They march to different beats: That’s the gold standard of so-called “diversification.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

One essay defended the gold standard, which had been discredited in the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

And dollar bills that were backed by the gold standard, which were no longer in circulation, had been found mixed in.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple