gold

1 of 2

noun

ˈgōld 

often attributive

1

: a yellow metallic element that occurs naturally in pure form and is used especially in coins, jewelry, and electronics see Chemical Elements Table

2

a(1)

: gold coins

(2)

: a gold piece

b

: money

c

: gold standard sense 1

3

: a variable color averaging deep yellow

4

: something resembling gold

especially : something valued as the finest of its kind

a heart of gold

5

: a medal awarded as the first prize in a competition : a gold medal

gold

2 of 2

adjective

: qualifying for a gold record

Phrases

go gold

: to have enough sales to qualify for a gold record

the album went gold

Synonyms

Noun

• bread [slang]
• bucks
• cabbage [slang]
• cash
• change
• chips
• coin
• currency
• dough
• green
• jack [slang]
• kale [slang]
• legal tender
• lolly [British]
• long green [slang]
• loot
• lucre
• money
• moola [slang]
• moolah
• needful
• pelf
• scratch [slang]
• shekels
• sheqels
• shekelim
• shekalim
• sheqalim
• tender
• wampum

Examples of gold in a Sentence

Noun

diamonds in a setting of 24-karat gold

What is the price of gold?

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Their small black and gold markers sit in narrow marble frames, flat to the ground alongside a quiet path. —Susan Page, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024

Theda Hammel is under no delusion that Covid is box-office gold. —Louis Lucero Ii, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024

The treasure also includes over 5,000 gold and silver coins, a silver bowl, silver ingots and animal bones, all buried during the Roman Empire’s conquest of Britain. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Apr. 2024

The mint denied that production was affected for the roughly 5,000 gold, silver and bronze medals — each containing an 18-gram hexagonal piece of iron taken from the Eiffel Tower. —Alexander Smith, NBC News, 9 Apr. 2024

The voluminous open cuff intersperses polished gold with negative space, encapsulating the 2024 trend for bold, sculptural jewelry. —Sarah Royce-Greensill, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024

On March 21, Meghan visited the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles while wearing a semi-sheer floral sundress, gold jewelry, and her new go-to shoe silhouette complete with an extra-supportive detail: ankle straps. —Averi Baudler, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024

Art & Soul Award Shea Robinson, Mount Notre Dame Robinson recently won a gold key from the 2024 Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for her work. —Melanie Laughman, The Enquirer, 29 Mar. 2024

During the past few weeks, tech stocks, Bitcoin, and even gold have hit new highs. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2024

Adjective

Crabb set out the same year with a group of white men, including unsuccessful gold miners and several other former California lawmakers, loading up on weapons after arriving by boat in Los Angeles. —The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024

On her own Instagram, Khloe enjoyed the ocean water in a gold one-piece swimsuit and fishnet cover-up, tagging her sister Kim’s brand Skims in the photos. —Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024

Then, to finish, accessorize the look with a heeled Mary Jane and gold drop earrings. —Sarah Zendejas, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024

The stained glass gives the air a gold haze in the nave of Knoxville’s former First Christian Church, the century-old site of André 3000’s woodwind seance on the closing afternoon of Big Ears ‘24. —Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024

The environmental devastation caused by gold miners in this pocket of the Peruvian Amazon has for years been the subject of international headlines. —Simeon Tegel, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024

According to reports, gold miners are known to camp in the area. —Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 30 Mar. 2024

The initial incident began at 4:50 p.m. when Warren police conducted a traffic stop at Eight Mile Road near Ryan Road due to a license plate violation on a gold Chevrolet Malibu. —Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2024

Popping against his crisp suit, Brittany wore a red satin gown, and accessorized with gold stiletto sandals and matching jewelry. —Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, going back to Old English, neuter strong noun, going back to Germanic *gulþa-/*gulđa- (with varying accentuation, whence also Old Frisian, Old Saxon, and Old High German gold "gold," Old Norse gull, goll, Gothic gulþ), going back to dialectal Indo-European *ǵhl̥(h₃)-to-, with full-grade ablaut *ǵhel(h₃)-to- (in Latvian zȩ̀lts "gold," Old Prussian sealtmeno "oriole") and o-grade *ǵhol(h₃)-to- (in Slavic *zȍlto, whence Old Church Slavic zlato "gold," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian zlâto, Polish złoto, Russian zóloto), all derivatives with the adjectival suffix *-to- from Indo-European *ǵhelh₃- "yellow, green" — more at yellow entry 1

Note: The formation of a word for "gold" from a *-to- derivative of Indo-European *ǵhelh₃- "yellow, green" is peculiar to Germanic, Slavic, and, in part, Baltic. An Indo-Iranian word for "gold" is formed with different suffixation from the same root: *ǵhl̥h₃-en-i̯o-, whence Sanskrit híranya- "gold," Avestan zarańiia-. A full display of forms in medieval and modern languages and loans into non-Indo-European languages is contained in the article "Indo-European 'Gold' in Time and Space" by Václav Blažek, Journal of Indo-European Studies, vol. 45, No. 3 (fall/winter 2017), pp. 267-311.

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1969, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gold

• as good as gold
• basket-of-gold
• black gold
• fool's gold
• go gold
• going for the gold
• gold coast
• gold digger
• gold-filled
• gold leaf
• gold medal
• gold mine
• gold of pleasure
• gold-plated
• gold record
• gold rush
• gold standard
• heart of gold
• old gold
• pot of gold
• strike gold
• the gold standard
• white gold
• worth one's weight in gold

Kids Definition

gold

noun

ˈgōld

1

: a soft yellow metallic element that is used especially in coins and jewelry see element

2

a

: gold coins

b

: money sense 1a

3

: a deep yellow

4

: a medal awarded as the first prize in a competition : a gold medal

gold adjective

Medical Definition

gold

noun

ˈgōld 

often attributive

: a malleable ductile yellow metallic element that occurs chiefly free or in a few minerals and is used especially in coins, jewelry, and dentures and in the form of its salts (as gold sodium thiomalate) especially in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

—symbol Au see Chemical Elements Table