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gold fever

American  

noun

  1. greed and excitement caused by a gold rush.


Etymology

Origin of gold fever

First recorded in 1840–50

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.

The pockmarked earth on Johannesburg's eastern fringe, until last week a humble cattle kraal ringed with barbed wire, now stands as the unlikely centre of South Africa's latest gold fever.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

But gold, and gold fever, have inevitably spurred conflict.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2022

“The guys who catch Bigfoot gold fever, they become lost to it,” Pyle says.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 18, 2021

I should go, she said, if I wanted to see a place that hadn’t been ruined by gold fever.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 4, 2019

The gold fever spread to even the remotest of our hamlets, and men, young and old, poured forth, ready to endure every hardship if only the much-coveted prize might be secured.

From To Alaska for Gold The Fortune Hunters of the Yukon by Stratemeyer, Edward