1
: British money
2
: sterling silver or articles of it
1
a
: of, relating to, or calculated in terms of British sterling
b
: payable in sterling
2
a
of silver
: having a fixed standard of purity usually defined legally as represented by an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper
b
: made of sterling silver
3
: conforming to the highest standard
sterling character
a sterling record of achievement
sterlingly
adverb
sterlingness
noun
Examples of sterling in a Sentence
Noun
a drop in the value of sterling
Adjective
a sterling example of democracy at work
credited the win to the pitcher's sterling performance on the mound
Recent Examples on the Web
James Nalton, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Further support has come from a decline in sterling, which has dropped 1.5% against the U.S. dollar to $1.339 over the past week, as Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey suggested the central bank would be more forceful with interest rate cuts if the labor market weakens.
—Ian King, CNBC, 16 July 2025
Alec Lewis, New York Times, 25 July 2025
McKinsey is a prestigious management consulting company with a well-deserved sterling reputation for helping corporations deal with complex business problems.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterling
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Noun
The fee in pounds sterling has been reported across the English media as £69 million, potentially rising to £79 million.
—James Nalton, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Further support has come from a decline in sterling, which has dropped 1.5% against the U.S. dollar to $1.339 over the past week, as Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey suggested the central bank would be more forceful with interest rate cuts if the labor market weakens.
—Ian King, CNBC, 16 July 2025
Adjective
Unsurprisingly, both the team’s ownership and coach Kevin O’Connell received sterling reviews.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 25 July 2025
McKinsey is a prestigious management consulting company with a well-deserved sterling reputation for helping corporations deal with complex business problems.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterling
Cite this Entry
“Sterling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sterling. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sterling
1 of 2 noun
ster·ling
ˈstər-liŋ 
1
: British money
2
: sterling silver or articles of it
sterling
2 of 2 adjective1
: of or relating to British sterling
2
: being or made of an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper
sterling silver
3
Etymology
Noun
so called from the phrase "a pound sterling," meaning the British pound as a monetary unit, but originally "a pound (by weight) of sterlings," from Middle English sterling "silver penny"
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