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• gold
  gold

  noun

  a precious yellow metallic element, highly malleable and ductile, and not subject to oxidation or corrosion. Au; 196.967; 79; 19.3 at 20°C.
• Gold
  Gold

  noun

  Nanay.

gold

¹ American  

[gohld] / goʊld /

noun

• gold
  plural

1. a precious yellow metallic element, highly malleable and ductile, and not subject to oxidation or corrosion. Au; 196.967; 79; 19.3 at 20°C.

2. a quantity of gold coins.

   to pay in gold.

3. a monetary standard based on this metal; gold standard.

4. money; wealth; riches.

5. something likened to this metal in brightness, preciousness, superiority, etc..

   a heart of gold.

6. a bright, metallic yellow color, sometimes tending toward brown.

7. gold medal.

8. Military. Gold, the code name for one of the five D-day invasion beaches, assaulted by British troops.

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adjective

1. consisting of gold.

2. pertaining to gold.

3. like gold.

4. of the color of gold.

5. indicating the fiftieth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

6. (of an audio recording) having sold a minimum of 500,000 copies.

idioms

1. go gold,

   1. (of an audio recording) to attain sales of 500,000 copies or more.

   2. (of a video game) to complete the development cycle from production through quality assurance testing and enter the sales and shipping cycle.

      The game went gold in November and was on store shelves for the holiday season.

Gold ² American  

[gohld, gawld] / goʊld, gɔld /

noun

1. Nanay.

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Gold ³ American  

[gohld] / goʊld /

noun

1. Herbert, 1924–2023, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

2. Thomas, 1920–2004, U.S. astronomer, born in Austria: formulated the steady-state theory of the universe.

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gold ¹ British  

/ ɡəʊld /

noun

1. 1. a dense inert bright yellow element that is the most malleable and ductile metal, occurring in rocks and alluvial deposits: used as a monetary standard and in jewellery, dentistry, and plating. The radioisotope gold-198 ( radiogold ), with a half-life of 2.69 days, is used in radiotherapy. Symbol: Au; atomic no: 79; atomic wt: 196.96654; valency: 1 or 3; relative density: 19.3; melting pt: 1064.43°C; boiling pt: 2857°C

   2. ( as modifier )

      a gold mine

2. a coin or coins made of this metal

3. money; wealth

4. something precious, beautiful, etc, such as a noble nature (esp in the phrase heart of gold )

5. 1. a deep yellow colour, sometimes with a brownish tinge

   2. ( as adjective )

      a gold carpet

6. archery the bull's eye of a target, scoring nine points

7. short for gold medal

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Gold ² British  

/ ɡəʊld /

noun

1. Thomas. 1920–2004, Austrian-born astronomer, working in England and the US: with Bondi and Hoyle he proposed the steady-state theory of the universe

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gold Scientific  

/ gōld /

1. A soft, shiny, yellow element that is the most malleable of all the metals. It occurs in veins and in alluvial deposits. Because it is very durable, resistant to corrosion, and a good conductor of heat and electricity, gold is used as a plated coating on electrical and mechanical components. It is also an international monetary standard and is used in jewelry and for decoration. Atomic number 79; atomic weight 196.967; melting point 1,063.0°C; boiling point 2,966.0°C; specific gravity 19.32; valence 1, 3.

2. See Periodic Table See Note at element

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nongold
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gold
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gold

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Gold, Gothic gulth; akin to Persian zar, Russian zóloto, Sanskrit híraṇya; cf. yellow ( def. )

Explanation

Gold is a relatively soft, shiny precious metal. Many kinds of jewelry, including necklaces, bangles, and wedding rings are traditionally made of gold. The element itself is called gold, and it's used to make valuable jewels, coins, and as a standard for currency trading. You can also use the word to describe the color, a shiny metallic deep yellow, or to describe things made from the metal: "Check out my new gold earrings!" Gold is an Old English word that shares a Proto-Indo-European root with the word "yellow:" ghel-, which means "yellow or green," and possibly "bright."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gold Gold

This dual-language class is also a federally funded Head Start program — long considered a gold standard in early childhood education — and must integrate learning with each child’s cultural and linguistic upbringing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Kurihara beat all four opponents to top Group A and he will attempt to win gold on Saturday.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

The gold miner said a challenging operating environment continues to impact underground mining, open-pit mining and sulfide processing at its Syama mine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The bustling little town was also a hub for gold, silver and copper mining camps.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Sometimes clouds moved across the squares, white or pink or edged with gold, and when the wind was from the west I could hear the sea.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Gold futures fell for a third straight session as the U.S. dollar strengthened and Treasury yields rose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Gold futures settled lower, snapping a three-session winning streak amid “several conflicting fundamental factors are shaping the market between support and pressure,” XS.com said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

In 2025, a female humpback whale was observed off the southern Gold Coast with an escort whale after apparently giving birth to a deceased calf.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Our goal is to become, one day, a Gold Glover,” Ebel said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Eleven months and eleven days after it was first launched, Operation Gold shut down for good.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau