gold standard

American  

noun

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

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gold standard British  

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

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gold standard Cultural  

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.

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Etymology

Origin of gold standard

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gold standard

This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled approach is considered the gold standard in clinical research because it reduces potential bias and allows investigators to assess treatment effects more objectively.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

“This city used to be the gold standard in terms of noncooperation with immigration enforcement years ago, under the era of Daryl Gates,” Raman said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Authoritative is the gold standard," says Gosling who has looked at more than 1,000 studies.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

This provides a viewer with that 100-proof cocktail of envy, loathing and cringy-ness that has been the gold standard of unscripted television.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

We wore the same haircut, a towering box cut made popular by rappers like Big Daddy Kane, whose elegantly chiseled high-top was the gold standard.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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