gold standard

noun

1. a monetary system with gold of specified weight and fineness as the unit of value.

gold standard

noun

1. a monetary system in which the unit of currency is defined with reference to gold
2. the supreme example of something against which others are judged or measured

   the current gold standard for breast cancer detection

gold standard

1. A system in which a nation's currency has a value measured in gold and can be exchanged for gold. Most nations, including the United States, went off the gold standard in the 1930s.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gold standard¹

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

The gold standard would be the Wichita State teams of the 2010s, which made six straight NCAA tournaments from 2012 to 2017 before departing for the American Athletic Conference.

From FiveThirtyEight

In terms of filtering out viral particles, in the US, N95 masks are the gold standard.

From Popular-Science

The HD gold standard is 1920X1080, or 1080p, which is the most popular resolution for gamers.

From Popular-Science

As the researchers note, the human visual system is still the gold standard when it comes to understanding the world around us.

From Singularity Hub 

For Miller, the Prediction Survey is the new gold standard for handicapping political races.

From Fortune

The “gold standard” dose is 30 minutes of 10,000 lux light, one hour of 5,000 lux light or two hours of 2,500 lux light.

From The Daily Beast

And Georgian wines have become the indisputable gold standard of the region.

From The Daily Beast

Gold is an option for the last generation for whom the term “Gold Standard” was literal.

From The Daily Beast

Baker is the gold standard for the job, ambitious, charming and indisputably effective at managing the levers of power.

From The Daily Beast

That period included the tumult of the U.S. leaving the gold standard, the oil shock, and the rise of inflation.

From The Daily Beast

As regards Great Britain, the gold standard is yet preserved for all practical purposes.

From Project Gutenberg

But in one respect the currency notes helped to maintain the country's gold standard.

From Project Gutenberg

Free silver orators were telling the farmers that under a gold standard no factory could run.

From Project Gutenberg

The fall in the first part of this period was accentuated by the return from a paper to a gold standard.

From Project Gutenberg

The method of rectifying the gold standard consists in suitably varying the weight of the gold dollar.

From Project Gutenberg