gold

play

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 Chemical Elements 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

See gold defined for English-language learners

See gold defined for kids

Examples of gold in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of gold from the Web

Kids activities include panning for gold, puppet shows, and singalongs.

— sheila vilvens, Cincinnati.com, "End of summer festivals, reopening of Wolfpen-Pleasant Hill Road," 30 Aug. 2017
Kelli-with-an-I makes a big show of examining eye shadows, lush squares of rose-gold and crimson and turquoise that promise magic.

— Teen Vogue, "Lit Club Winners: First Day of School," 29 Aug. 2017
At dawn, Danny and I cuddled together on the embers and watched the sunrise over the desert, spraying it blue and gold and pink hues.

— maria finn, Longreads, "Can Love Sparked at Burning Man Last in Everyday Life?," 28 Aug. 2017
They’ve been replaced with a deeply post-millennial aesthetic that includes chokers, heeled booties, fur, and lots and lots of gold.

— yohana desta, HWD, "The New Heathers Looks Nothing Like the Original," 28 Aug. 2017
Bennett says the blue and gold on the bar's antique Pepsi soda dispenser matches the color scheme of the 1920s-era Pizitz store.

— eric velasco, AL.com, "Bar named after Pizitz founder brings creative cocktails, craft sodas to food hall," 24 Aug. 2017
In fact, the Levis JCC — which from 2008 to 2015 went 54-0 and won eight gold medals in Girls Basketball — didn't even field a Girls Basketball team this year.

— randall p. lieberman, Jewish Journal, "Levis JCC Maccabi team small but potent," 17 Aug. 2017
The new collection, which is on sale now starting at $55, includes three lace-up styles—including a pair of high tops—in Rifle Paper Co.'s popular Queen Anne pattern in metallic gold with either a black or white background.

— lyndsey matthews, Country Living, "Rifle Paper Co. Just Released a Brand New Collection of Sneakers With Keds," 14 Aug. 2017
Goldman’s nautical trophy is a strange but inevitable outcome of Wall Street’s latest gold rush: lending to wealthy clients, the loans backed by everything from Warhols to wine.

— bess levin, The Hive, "Ray Dalio’s Master Plan to Make His Hedge Fund Cult Immortal," 10 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of gold

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

gold Synonyms

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

gold

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

See gold defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of gold from the Web

Among a handful of U.S. companies, paternity leave has become the gold standard of employee benefits.

— ana veciana-suarez, miamiherald, "Mark Zuckerberg can take paid leave when his child is born, but most fathers can’t," 29 Aug. 2017
The area has gold reserves, and some villagers there pan for gold.

— Bloomberg.com, "Zimbabwe’s First Lady Was Combative Long Before Assault Case," 24 Aug. 2017
A young man roamed through the crowd wearing a fluffy white Versace robe with gold trim.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Durham's Anti-Klan Block Party," 19 Aug. 2017
The Gold track will target landowners with 10 or more acres.

— don sorrell, Cincinnati.com, "Woodland management focus of short course," 6 Aug. 2017
The health-insurance industry has long considered a 75 percent take-up rate to be the gold standard in evaluating whether an insurance pool is stable — i.e., whether there are enough healthy people signed up to pay the claims of the sick.

— robert laszewski, National Review, "Is Part of the Health-Insurance Market Entering a Death Spiral?," 3 Aug. 2017
A GOLD RUSH LURES A HOMESTEADER The ranch began after the discovery of gold in the Owyhee Mountains during the Civil War.

— zach kyle, idahostatesman, "Water-rights victory made this Idaho ranch owner a ‘rock star’," 18 July 2017
As of Saturday afternoon at least three teams, including the Cardinals and Rays, were rumored to be interested in acquiring the Gold Glove finalist who has played in only 20 games this season.

— andre c. fernandez, miamiherald, "Miami Marlins’ Jose Urena keeping hitters off balance, becoming solid starter," 24 June 2017
The 111 individual Gold Key works, 13 Gold Key portfolios and five American Visions Nominees were sent to New York City for national judging.

— elaine rooker jack, The Courier-Journal, "15 Louisville area students win National Scholastic Silver Medals," 23 June 2017

First Known Use of gold

1969

GOLD Defined for English Language Learners

gold

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noun

Definition of gold for English Language Learners

: a soft yellow metal that is very valuable and that is used especially in jewelry
: gold coins
: a deep yellow color

gold

adjective

Definition of gold for English Language Learners

: made of or from gold
: having a gold color

GOLD Defined for Kids

gold

play

noun \ ˈgōld \

Definition of gold for Students

1 :a soft yellow metallic chemical element used especially in coins and jewelry

2 :gold coins

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

4 :a deep yellow

Medical Dictionary

gold

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noun, often attributive \ ˈgōld \

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 Chemical Elements Table