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 decades, statistics that came directly from the U.S. government, especially from agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), have long been the gold standard for measuring the health of the American economy. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025

After Nixon left the gold standard in 1971, inflation surged. —Steve Booren, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025

Preprint papers haven’t been peer-reviewed or published in medical journals, which is the gold standard for reliable scientific research. —David Ingram, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2025

The spine-leaf architecture has become the gold standard for modern data centers. —Bhupendra Singh, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for the gold standard

• meandered
• nonstandard
• substandard
• slandered