the gold standard

noun

1

: a system in which a unit of money (such as the dollar) is equal to a particular amount of gold

The United States was still on the gold standard in the early 20th century.

2

: something that is considered to be the best and that is used to judge the quality or level of other, similar things

This car is the gold standard for luxury automobiles.

the gold standard of stylish resorts

Examples of the gold standard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And no corner of academia faces more skepticism than the Ivy League — the very institutions that have long positioned themselves as the gold standard. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2026

In a roller-coaster season, the Denver Pioneers finished on top with yet another national championship to again assert themselves as the gold standard of NCAA Division I hockey. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026

In finance, the gold standard fixes a currency’s value against a specific quantity of a specific object. —Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026

The Bose QuietComfort remains the gold standard for anyone who values their sanity in loud spaces. —Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for the gold standard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• substandard
• slandered