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

The states have a role to play, and that is the gold standard of that regulation, and we shouldn’t be preempted by federal regulation. —Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 27 Mar. 2026

The 2026 World Happiness Ranking, coordinated by the University of Oxford, is considered the gold standard of global life-satisfaction studies. —Andres Oppenheimer, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026

Nigl’s 49-game streak remains the gold standard — a benchmark that has stood for several years and continues to be the mark every bracket-maker, knowingly or not, is chasing. —Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2026

The latter, Kilpin said, is the gold standard for how to respond. —Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 19 Mar. 2026

Rhymes for the gold standard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• substandard
• slandered