gold standard

noun

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 sense 1a

Synonyms of gold standard

• standard
• criterion
• benchmark

Examples of gold standard in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite the inevitable issues and challenges, our journalism and quality content continues to be admired as a gold standard. —Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 9 Nov. 2025

Thanks to a breakthrough by researchers in China, the material is stronger, tougher and more effective at stopping bullets—while also being thinner—than the current gold standard material, Kevlar. —Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

In the 1960s, the Golden State’s K-12 school system was the nation’s gold standard. —John Seiler, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025

While highly customizable, powerful, and certainly still the industry gold standard, Nvidia makes chips and AI infrastructure hardware that are not specific to any one company. —Zev Fima, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gold standard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• substandard
• slandered