gold

¹gold

noun, often attributive \ˈgōld\

Definition of GOLD

1

: a yellow malleable ductile metallic element that occurs chiefly free or in a few minerals and is used especially in coins, jewelry, and dentures — see element table

2

a (1) : gold coins (2) : a gold piece

b : money

c : gold standard 1

3

: a variable color averaging deep yellow

4

: something resembling gold; especially : something valued as the finest of its kind <a heart of gold>

5

: a medal awarded as the first prize in a competition : a gold medal

Examples of GOLD

1. diamonds in a setting of 24-karat gold
2. What is the price of gold?

Origin of GOLD

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German gold gold, Old English geolu yellow — more at yellow

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to GOLD

Synonyms

bread [slang], bucks, cabbage [slang], cash, change, chips, coin, currency, dough, money, green, jack [slang], kale [slang], legal tender, lolly [British], long green [slang], loot, lucre, moola (or moolah) [slang], needful, pelf, scratch [slang], shekels (also sheqels or shekelim or shekalim or sheqalim), tender, wampum

Related Words

coinage, specie; dead presidents [slang], folding money, paper money, scrip; banknote, cashier's check, check, draft, money order, note, promissory note; bill, dollar, greenback; bankroll, capital, finances, funds, roll [slang], wad, wallet; chump change, dibs [slang], dime, mite, peanuts, pittance, shoestring; big bucks, bomb [British], boodle, bundle, earth, fortune, king's ransom, megabucks, mint, packet [chiefly British], pile, pot; abundance, means, opulence, riches, treasure, wealth; resources, wherewithal; mad money, petty cash, pin money, pocket money, spending money

Rhymes with GOLD

bold, bowled, cold, fold, hold, mold, old, polled, scold, soled, souled, wold

²gold

adjective

Definition of GOLD

: qualifying for a gold record

— go gold

: to have enough sales to qualify for a gold record <the album went gold>

First Known Use of GOLD

1969

gold

noun , often attrib \ˈgōld\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of GOLD

: a malleable ductile yellow metallic element that occurs chiefly free or in a few minerals and is used especially in coins, jewelry, and dentures and in the form of its salts (as gold sodium thiomalate) especially in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis—symbol Au; see element table

gold

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Au, atomic number 79. It is a dense, lustrous, yellow, malleable precious metal, so durable that it is virtually indestructible, often found uncombined in nature. Jewelry and other decorative objects have been crafted from gold for thousands of years. It has been used for coins, to back paper currencies, and as a reserve asset. Gold is widely distributed in all igneous rocks, usually pure but in low concentrations; its recovery from ores and deposits has been a major preoccupation since ancient times (see cyanide process). The world's gold supply has seen three great leaps, with Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas in 1492, with discoveries in California (see gold rush) and Australia (1850–75), and discoveries in Alaska, Yukon (see Klondike), and South Africa (1890–1915). Pure gold is too soft for prolonged handling; it is usually used in alloys with silver, copper, and other metals. In addition to being used in jewelry and as currency, gold is used in electrical contacts and circuits, as a reflective layer in space applications and on building windows, and in filling and replacing teeth. Dental alloys are about 75% gold, 10% silver. In jewelry, its purity is expressed in 24ths, or karats: 24-karat is pure, 12-karat is 50% gold, etc. Its compounds, in which it has valence 1 or 3, are used mainly in plating and other decorative processes; a soluble chloride compound has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.