sterling

1 of 2

noun

ster·​ling ˈstər-liŋ 

1

: British money

2

: sterling silver or articles of it

sterling

2 of 2

adjective

1

a

: of, relating to, or calculated in terms of British sterling

b

: payable in sterling

2

a

of silver : having a fixed standard of purity usually defined legally as represented by an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper

b

: made of sterling silver

3

: conforming to the highest standard

sterling character

a sterling record of achievement

sterlingly adverb

sterlingness noun

Synonyms of sterling

Adjective

• excellent
• superb
• stellar
• terrific
• lovely
• wonderful
• great
• beautiful
• fantastic
• prime
• fabulous
• fine
• awesome
• marvelous
• quality

Examples of sterling in a Sentence

Noun

a drop in the value of sterling

Adjective

a sterling example of democracy at work

credited the win to the pitcher's sterling performance on the mound

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Vladar made a sterling save on Cousins almost six minutes into the second, keeping the game scoreless. —CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026

While at Wednesday's market price, the sterling silver in the trophy would fetch a little more than $10,000, Tiffany has noted that for the 32 teams competing in the NFL, the trophy is considered priceless. —Paul Edward Parker, The Providence Journal, 6 Feb. 2026

Adjective

Go for pieces in the same metal family (all white gold or all sterling silver, for example) to visually tie them together despite the spatial separation. —Abby Morgan Lebet, Glamour, 3 Feb. 2026

Perhaps more unusually, Biden was given a sterling silver train set worth $7,750 from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a road bike and two crates of dates worth $7,089 from United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. —Matthew Lee The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, silver penny, probably from Old English *steorling, from Old English steorra star + -ling entry 1 — more at star

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sterling

• sterling area
• sterling bloc

Rhymes for sterling

• burling
• curling
• hurling
• pearling
• sperling
• swirling
• twirling
• whirling
• yearling
• unfurling

Kids Definition

sterling

1 of 2 noun

ster·​ling ˈstər-liŋ 

1

: British money

2

: sterling silver or articles of it

sterling

2 of 2 adjective

1

: of or relating to British sterling

2

: being or made of an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper

sterling silver

3

: excellent

Etymology

Noun

so called from the phrase "a pound sterling," meaning the British pound as a monetary unit, but originally "a pound (by weight) of sterlings," from Middle English sterling "silver penny"