gold standard

noun

|Updated on: 9 Aug 2018

Examples: gold standard in a Sentence

Definition of gold standard

1 : a monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold and which is usually characterized by the coinage and circulation of gold, unrestricted convertibility of other money into gold, and the free export and import of gold for settling of international obligations

2 : benchmark 1a

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Examples of gold standard in a Sentence

the gold standard for accurate experimental procedures is the double-blind medication trial

Recent Examples of gold standard from the Web

Grillworks Inspired by the Argentinian parrilla and manufactured in northern Michigan, this is the gold standard of wood-burning grills.

— steven raichlen, New York Times, "Cooking Over Wood: A Guide to the Grills," 29 June 2018
For more than half a decade, Northern Illinois was the gold standard in the Mid-American Conference.

— matt murschel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Improving Northern Illinois is No. 60 in 2018 preseason college football rankings," 28 June 2018
Despite the passage of so many years, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the housing act are the gold standard in civil rights legislation.

— randy blaser, chicagotribune.com, "50 years after LBJ's landmark civil rights legislation, America still struggles with prejudice, injustice," 14 June 2018
An average of two polls (neither of which are gold standard) taken since the beginning of the year has Cagle ahead of Abrams by a 5.5 percentage point margin.

— harry enten, CNN, "Stacey Abrams is the nation's first black woman governor nominee. Can she win in Georgia?," 22 May 2018
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is the gold standard for in-patient treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction.

— augusten burroughs, Town & Country, "Welcome to the Very Best Asylum Money Can Buy," 23 Apr. 2018
The Griffins, who have won three straight outright league titles since then, have been the gold standard in the league.

— matt szabo, latimes.com, "Fountain Valley boys' tennis snaps Los Alamitos streak, takes over outright first place in Sunset League," 18 Apr. 2018
The link was especially strong under the gold standard because trade imbalances were financed by gold flows.

— greg ip, WSJ, "U.S. Exporters Will Be a Surprise Loser From Tariff Fight," 9 July 2018
The series was quickly feted as a new gold standard for a hit sitcom, and was just as quickly renewed.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "Why ABC had to cancel Roseanne," 29 May 2018

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

First Known Use of gold standard

1831

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Financial Definition of GOLD STANDARD

gold standard

noun

What It Is

The gold standard is a monetary system in which the representative currency is based on a fixed amount of gold held by the central government.

How It Works

Paper currency is actually a "legal note," i.e. a debt between the currency holder and the government. In theory, currency represents the obligation to make a payment of the stated amount when presented to the government. When the gold standard was in place, an individual could present a $10 bill to a federal bank and receive $10 worth of gold in return. Gold was used as a base, because it was durable, rare, and almost universally valued.

The price of gold became a barometer for the underlying value of an economy. But because gold is a tangible asset, the price of gold can rise and fall rapidly. It's also subject to speculation, discovery and theft. As a result, the value of currency based on gold depends on the value of gold.

In the last century, the world's economies grew too quickly to be accurately represented by the world's reserves of gold. Therefore, gold standards have been abandoned by almost all economies. The United States abandoned the gold standard in 1971.

Why It Matters

While the gold standard regulates the value of exchanges throughout the economy, it also limits a central government's ability to make monetary adjustments in the current global economy.

After the abandonment of the gold standard, governments gained more ability to affect economies through monetary policy. Monetary policy is contingent upon the central government's ability to adjust an economy's demand for money through interest rates and the supply of currency. This is especially important during times of emergency such as war or natural disaster.

Source: Investing Answers