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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gold standard

One essay defended the gold standard, which had been discredited in the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

He saw the gold standard as a useful curb on governments’ ability to foment booms and busts by printing money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Lawyers for CPL, an independent production company which makes the UK version of the show, have said its welfare system is "gold standard" and industry-leading, and that it had acted appropriately in all these cases.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

That’s why the gold standard is a colonoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that uses a scope with a camera to examine the large intestine’s lining for precancerous or cancerous polyps.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

And dollar bills that were backed by the gold standard, which were no longer in circulation, had been found mixed in.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple