gold star
Americannoun
-
a gold-colored star displayed, as on a service flag, to indicate that a member of one's family, organization, or the like, was killed in war as a member of the armed forces.
-
Informal.
-
symbolic approval or recognition for outstanding merit or effort.
You get the gold star for cooking such a gourmet dinner.
-
anything that represents an outstanding effort or achievement.
Her promotion was the gold star she'd been working for.
-
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gold star
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25
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.
"I wrote 'F1 driver.' That's the shining gold star."
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
AI training might not be a gold star that lands you a job, but it is something you can work into your narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
“I’ll give a gold star to whoever drafted the ordinance for creativity. This is some of the most tortured legal reasoning I have ever read,” she said during a council meeting early this month.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2024
Melissa: No. 2: If you’re one of those people who rinses, dries and sorts your recycling, you get a gold star.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024
She wrote in that flawless cursive, and a little gold star on a paper from Mrs. Spellman was like a treasure, even for the toughest boys.
From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
