gold standard

noun

1

: a monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold and which is usually characterized by the coinage and circulation of gold, unrestricted convertibility of other money into gold, and the free export and import of gold for settling of international obligations

2

: benchmark sense 1a

Synonyms

• bar
• barometer
• benchmark
• criterion
• grade
• mark
• measure
• metric
• par
• standard
• touchstone
• yardstick

Examples of gold standard in a Sentence

the gold standard for accurate experimental procedures is the double-blind medication trial

Recent Examples on the Web

Radiohead remains a perennial gold standard for festival bookings, though. —Al Shipley, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024

But this raises the question, what do President-elect Trump and HHS secretary nominee Kennedy mean by reverting, say, the FDA’s drug review process to a gold standard? —Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024

The Big Ten routinely heralded its 3:30 p.m. game on ABC as its gold standard, while the SEC owned that time slot for more than two decades on CBS. —Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024

The traditional gold standard of using only live operator telephone polls has become nearly obsolete. —Camille Mumford, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at sense 1