fool's gold

noun

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of fool's gold

: pyrite; broadly : any of various pyritic minerals resembling gold

See fool's gold defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of fool's gold from the Web

Materials like the copper ore mineral chalcocite and fool's gold, pyrite, are sulfidic anions.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Sulfuric Volcanoes May Have Quickened Life on Earth," 9 Apr. 2018
Clarkson, a career 33 percent long distance shooter, going 3-of-4 is fool's gold.

— chris fedor, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers go back to their old, fun bombs-away style," 12 Feb. 2018
Is this an upgrade from the last season or a fool's gold? -- Masoud, Tucson, Ariz. A: The most important thing about the start of this season is to forget about the finish of last season.

— ira winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "ASK IRA: Are Heat starting to find their formula?," 10 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fool's gold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of fool's gold

1872

Financial Definition of FOOL'S GOLD

fool's gold

noun

What It Is

Fool's gold is a shiny mineral called pyrite which bears great resemblance to, and is often confused with, real gold.

How It Works

Actually an iron-based mineral, pyrite is known for being yellow and shiny and appearing no different from real gold. But unlike real gold, fool's gold bears little, if any, intrinsic, social, or market value. Fool's gold has historically been found in mass quantities and mistaken for gold ore. Its name refers to those it "fools" into believing they have discovered a gold mine.

Why It Matters

Though it's no longer a term specific to mining, the term fool's gold is still often used to describe an investment that appears promising to the uninformed, but whose underlying value is actually nothing.

Source: Investing Answers