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

For those of you interested in a more western flavor to your trip, Fort Worth is the place to be, and the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge is the gold standard of Tarrant County trails. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Texas may be the Wild West, with fewer rules governing self-driving cars than most states, but California is still the gold standard. — Andrew Hawkins, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026

That design is the gold standard for proving a drug actually works, and regulators have treated the data accordingly. — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026

For years, the USDA Organic seal has been the gold standard for shoppers who want food grown under stricter farming rules. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for the gold standard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• substandard
• slandered