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gold leaf

American

noun

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

gold leaf British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

gold-leaf

adjective

Etymology

Origin of gold leaf

First recorded in 1720–30

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.

Trump said Tuesday he had accepted Macron's offer of dinner at Versailles as the palace of the French Sun King Louis XIV is "not gold leaf" but the "real deal".

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

Four bronze horse statues that stand near Memorial Bridge are set to be coated with 23.75 karat gold leaf.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

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

The cake’s original version was covered in gold leaf, but aside from eye candy, you’re not missing anything without it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Shelves rose forty feet under an astonishing painted ceiling, and the spines of books glowed in jewel-toned leather, their gold leaf shining in the glavelight like animal eyes.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023