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

Even with buzzier ingredients 10 years later, this remains the gold standard. — Audrey Noble, Vogue, 4 Aug. 2026

Whether it’s woven into a baby blanket or an oversized throw, cashmere remains the gold standard for softness. — Vy Yang, Architectural Digest, 4 Aug. 2026

Rather than freelancing with discretionary interventions, Witte committed the ruble to the gold standard in 1897. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026

There's a lot of ways that greater regulatory scrutiny would really be beneficial and lead us to developing AI that's at the gold standard by weeding out some of the bad apples that have developed along the way. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 27 July 2026

Rhymes for the gold standard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• substandard
• slandered