gold

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈgōld 

plural golds

1

: a yellow metallic element with atomic number 79 that occurs naturally in pure form and is used especially in coins, jewelry, and electronics see Chemical Elements Table

2

a(1)

: gold coins

(2)

: a gold piece

b

: money

c

: gold standard sense 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

gold

2 of 3

adjective

1

: made of or containing gold

a gold ring/watch

a gold mine

2

: having a gold color : golden

gold eyes

an orange and gold cat

a blue shirt with gold stripes

3

: qualifying for a gold record

see also:

go gold

Goldi

3 of 3

noun (2)

Gol·​di

ˈgōldē, 

ˈgȯl-

variants or Gold

-ld

plural Goldi or Goldis or Golds

1

a

: a group of Tungus peoples living along the Amur river

b

: a member of any of such peoples

2

: the Tungusic language of the Goldi peoples

Synonyms of gold

Noun (1)

• cash
• coin
• money
• currency

Examples of gold in a Sentence

Noun (1)

diamonds in a setting of 24-karat gold

What is the price of gold?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Alchemist Kitchen spins food business gold Several of the businesses identified are graduates of the Alchemist Microenterprise Academy (AMA), a 12-week business training course that teaches the basics of starting a food business. —Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 12 June 2026

Knicks fan Pierre said, wearing a gold chain with a platano charm (a good-luck symbol honoring Dominican player Karl-Anthony Towns). —Antonio Ferme, Variety, 11 June 2026

Adjective

Each ticket costs $5, and players may pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers - five different numbers from 1 to 70 (the white balls) and one number from 1 to 24 (the gold Mega Ball) - or select Easy Pick/Quick Pick. —Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 10 June 2026

After about two years of work, plans call for a 300-foot mobile crane to be used to install a gold statue atop the arch. —Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 10 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, going back to Old English, neuter strong noun, going back to Germanic *gulþa-/*gulđa- (with varying accentuation, whence also Old Frisian, Old Saxon, and Old High German gold "gold," Old Norse gull, goll, Gothic gulþ), going back to dialectal Indo-European *ǵhl̥(h₃)-to-, with full-grade ablaut *ǵhel(h₃)-to- (in Latvian zȩ̀lts "gold," Old Prussian sealtmeno "oriole") and o-grade *ǵhol(h₃)-to- (in Slavic *zȍlto, whence Old Church Slavic zlato "gold," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian zlâto, Polish złoto, Russian zóloto), all derivatives with the adjectival suffix *-to- from Indo-European *ǵhelh₃- "yellow, green" — more at yellow entry 1

Note: The formation of a word for "gold" from a *-to- derivative of Indo-European *ǵhelh₃- "yellow, green" is peculiar to Germanic, Slavic, and, in part, Baltic. An Indo-Iranian word for "gold" is formed with different suffixation from the same root: *ǵhl̥h₃-en-i̯o-, whence Sanskrit híranya- "gold," Avestan zarańiia-. A full display of forms in medieval and modern languages and loans into non-Indo-European languages is contained in the article "Indo-European 'Gold' in Time and Space" by Václav Blažek, Journal of Indo-European Studies, vol. 45, No. 3 (fall/winter 2017), pp. 267-311.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing gold

• as good as gold
• basket-of-gold
• black gold
• fool's gold
• go gold
• going for the gold
• gold coast
• gold-filled
• gold leaf
• gold medal
• gold mine
• gold of pleasure
• gold-plated
• gold record
• gold rush
• gold standard
• heart of gold
• old gold
• pot of gold
• strike gold
• the gold standard
• white gold
• worth one's weight in gold
• Zimbabwe gold

Rhymes for gold

• bold
• bowled
• cold
• doled
• foaled
• fold
• hold
• holed
• mould
• old
• poled
• polled

Kids Definition

gold

noun

ˈgōld

1

: a soft yellow metallic element that is used especially in coins and jewelry see element

2

a

: gold coins

b

: money sense 1a

3

: a deep yellow

4

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

gold adjective

Medical Definition

gold

noun

ˈgōld 

often attributive

: 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