gold medal

American

noun

a medal, traditionally of gold or gold color, awarded to a person or team finishing first in a competition, meet, or tournament; championship medal.

gold medal British

noun

a medal of gold, awarded to the winner of a competition or race Compare silver medal bronze medal

"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

Derived Forms

gold medalist

noun

Etymology

Origin of gold medal

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

Warsaw holds the gold medal for North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense spending—4.3% of its economy, according to NATO’s count.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

If Sinner does lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires on 7 June, it will leave him only an Olympics gold medal away from completing the full house of the sport's biggest individual prizes.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

In 1984, her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, became the first American to win a gold medal at the World Judo Championships.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

There’s no prize pool or gold medal to be won.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

Peter claimed the title of being the first ever African-American to win a national gold medal in saber fencing.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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