gold leaf

American  

noun

1. gold in the form of very thin foil, as for gilding.

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gold leaf British  

noun

1. very thin gold sheet with a thickness usually between 0.076 and 0.127 micrometre, produced by rolling or hammering gold and used for gilding woodwork, etc

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Other Word Forms

• gold-leaf
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of gold leaf

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

These works are Impressionistic, displaying washes of scenes featuring elements like lily pads and flowers, some of them incorporating gold leaf as an accent in reference to the Japanese kintsugi technique.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

Carving the intricate statues, which are often adorned with bright paint and gold leaf, was an art he learned from his father as a teenager.

From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026

Glasses of Champagne, truffles, gold leaf and caviar decorate the poached blue lobster and A5 Miyazaki beef tenderloin dishes here.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2025

Joanna went over to Venice to sift through crates and crates of the gold leaf mosaic to find the right colours.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025

I liked the shameless extravaganza: gold leaf and baroque excesses did not put me off.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood