golden
adjective
golden
1 American
[gohl-duhn]
/ ˈgoʊl dən /
adjective
-
bright, metallic, or lustrous like gold; of the color of gold; yellow.
golden hair.
-
made or consisting of gold.
golden earrings.
-
exceptionally valuable, advantageous, or fine.
a golden opportunity.
-
having glowing vitality; radiant.
golden youth.
-
full of happiness, prosperity, or vigor.
golden hours;
a golden era of exploration.
-
highly talented and favored; destined for success.
television's golden boy.
-
richly soft and smooth.
a golden voice.
-
indicating the fiftieth event of a series.
a golden wedding anniversary.
Golden
2
American
[gohl-duhn]
/ ˈgoʊl dən /
noun
golden
British
/ ˈɡəʊldən /
adjective
-
of the yellowish or brownish-yellow metallic colour of gold
golden hair
-
made from or largely consisting of gold
a golden statue
-
happy or prosperous
golden days
-
(sometimes capital) (of anniversaries) the 50th in a series
Golden Jubilee
golden wedding
-
informal very successful or destined for success
the golden girl of tennis
-
extremely valuable or advantageous
a golden opportunity
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of golden
Explanation
Something that's golden is made out of gold. A queen in a fairy tale might wear an elaborate golden crown. Aside from golden ornaments and jewelry, things the color of gold are also golden, like a boy's golden hair or golden fields of wheat. If you talk about a golden time or a golden opportunity, you mean something marked by luck, peace, and happiness. In Old English, it was common to add the suffix -en to mean "made of," but golden is one of just a few of these words in modern English (including wooden and waxen).
Vocabulary lists containing golden
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -en
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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.
See Examples For:
As the sun rises over the Indian Ocean, waves lap onto the golden sands while palm fronds rustle in the cool sea breeze.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
London was about to embark on a golden age as a capital of fashion and culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
If you are a long-term investor who believes the EPS estimates will hold, Thursday’s action may provide a golden buying opportunity.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
In 1995, Pulido launched his own independent singing career during the golden age of Tejano music, defined by acts such as Patsy Torres, Little Joe y La Familia and Selena Quintanilla.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
I reached toward the intertwined branches, their leaves illuminated by the golden hue of the evening sun.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
A third of the new restaurants will be in the Golden State, with the others scattered across the country.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
"I watch a lot of videos of him and try and do the things he does. If I can play with him until the end to get the Golden Boot, I will try."
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Kane has written himself into Bayern legend since joining from Spurs for £86m in August 2023, scoring 102 goals in 102 Bundesliga matches, winning two league titles and three successive Golden Boot awards.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Maine’s right-leaning 2nd District is currently represented by Rep. Jared Golden, a conservative Democrat who’s retiring.
From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026
The giant tear in the sky bathed the beaches and coastline of the Golden Crescent in a red-orange blaze.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
