gold dust
Americannoun
noun
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gold in the form of small particles or powder, as found in placer-mining
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a valuable or rare thing
tickets for this match are gold dust
Etymology
Origin of gold dust
First recorded in 1695–1705
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Diamondis described the images of McIlroy getting his hands on the Green Jacket again at Augusta as "gold dust".
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
Samuel Brannan proclaimed in 1848, trotting a bottle of gold dust around San Francisco and effectively kicking off the Gold Rush.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Coming from a former president who still wields much influence among the traditional French right, the words are like political gold dust.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
Information about what consumers are looking for in the resale market is gold dust for luxury brands trying to figure out what shoppers want to buy now.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 19, 2025
Because the tarred roads spring potholes like surprise presents and the air smells of hills and history and the sunlight scatters the sand and turns it into gold dust.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
