Skip to main content
gold

gold

1.0
A soft yellow metal that is valuable and used for jewelry and money
  • noun
  • /ɡoʊld/
translation icon : oro
  • I knew you'd wear a gold charm round your neck.
  • a gold coin
  • gold jewelry
  • gold leaf

So I'm still saying buy gold, silver and Bitcoin now.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The top four teams won gold medals as well as employment or internship offers from IBM.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Here is a gold coin.

  • Worth its weight in gold.

  • Besides, I could use that 500 in gold.

  • I weighed the gold out, pound for pound.

  • Days later, on February 6, 2011, burglars stole gold jewelry and a new laptop.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In addition, the graves held gold necklaces, rings, scepters, and even a gold penis sheath.

    Academic text (2011)
  • On her wish-boned wrists sparkled a gold charm bracelet and a real watch that chimed.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The manuscript is markedly luxurious; an elegant, humanist script graces its five gold-edged parchment quires.

    Academic text (2008)
  • She received a beautiful gold ring as a gift for her birthday.

Synonyms

pure gold
vsgold
6 2.7

Metal that is only gold with nothing else in it

is the general metal term including pure and mixed forms
24-karat gold
vsgold
  • Specialized
2 3.0

Pure gold containing no other metals

is the broader metal term that also covers alloys
18-karat gold
vsgold
  • Specialized
1 3.0

A metal with 75 percent pure gold used in jewelry

is the broader metal term that covers this and purer forms
aurum
vsgold
  • Literature
1 9.9

A Latin name that scientists and writers use for the metal gold

is the common modern metal name used in daily life
22-karat gold
vsgold
  • Specialized
1 3.1

A metal made of about 87 percent gold used for jewelry

is the general metal concept, not limited to this alloy
Au
vsgold
  • Specialized
4.5

A symbol for the metal gold on the periodic table

is the everyday metal term rather than the scientific label

Antonyms

298 3.0

Has no value or use

Idioms

heart of gold
  • Informal
17 2.9

A person who is very kind and generous

To try very hard to win first place in a competition

1 7.7

Very rare and hard to get

To pay someone for a service, especially to have them tell your future

A chance to make money in a place or situation

Compounds

114 1.1

A medal made of gold that a winner gets in competitions, often in sports

gold mine
  • Informal
21 3.2

A source of many useful things like information or money

19 6.1

A woman who starts relationships with men mainly to get money or gifts

15 3.9

The best and most trusted example that people use to judge other things

gold standard
  • Specialized
12 5.1

A system where people can exchange a country's money for gold

9 3.3

A place where people dig to find gold

6 3.6

A sudden time when many people start a new business to try to get rich

6 4.3

Very thin sheets of gold used to decorate objects and food

6 3.0

A time when many people go quickly to a place to look for gold

6 2.7

Metal that is only gold with nothing else in it

5 4.1

A pale, silver-coloured metal that people make by mixing gold with other metals for jewellery

pot of gold
  • Informal
5 4.1

A reward that someone hopes to get but finds hard to reach

fool's gold
  • Specialized
4 4.9

A shiny yellow rock or thing that looks like gold but is worthless

4 4.2

Small pieces of gold that you find in rivers or the ground

3 3.1

A person who digs or pans for gold

24-karat gold
  • Specialized
2 3.0

Pure gold containing no other metals

liquid gold
  • Informal
2 5.6

A valuable liquid like oil or honey

1 4.6

A valuable black oil that countries sell for money

18-karat gold
  • Specialized
1 3.0

A metal with 75 percent pure gold used in jewelry

1 5.5

A strong excitement and greed to find gold during a gold rush

1 2.4

To have a shiny yellow color like gold

comedy gold
  • Informal
1 5.1

A joke or moment in a show that people find very funny and memorable

1 5.3

A cord of shiny gold thread used to decorate clothes or curtains

1 6.3

A wealthy area by the coast with large, expensive houses

1 5.3

A person who digs or pans for gold at a mine

1 3.9

A piece of tableware or object of ordinary metal covered with a thin layer of gold

gold foil
  • Specialized
1 3.9

Very thin sheets of gold used to decorate things like frames and art

1 7.1

The former name of the country now called Ghana when it was a British colony

22-karat gold
  • Specialized
1 3.1

A metal made of about 87 percent gold used for jewelry

gold plate
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A thin layer of gold put on the surface of another material for decoration or protection

A large North American spider with black and yellow markings often found in gardens

dental gold
  • Specialized
4.2

A mix of gold and other metals dentists use for fillings and crowns because it lasts a long time

9.3

A strong, popular type of marijuana first grown near Acapulco, Mexico

alpine gold
  • Specialized
9.3

A low plant with small bright yellow flowers that grows on rocky mountain slopes

mosaic gold
  • Specialized
9.9

A bright yellow powder used to make art and frames look like gold

An annual plant with small yellow flowers grown for oil-rich seeds and fiber

gold alloy
  • Specialized
3.5

A mix of gold and other metals made to be stronger or change color

9.9

A fern from the West Indies and South America with bright yellow undersides on its fronds

A person who washes soil and small stones in a pan to find gold

A person who hammers gold into very thin sheets to cover objects

gold telluride
  • Specialized
8.9

A mineral made of gold combined with tellurium found in gold deposits

A very small North American bird with a bright golden crown on its head

A small flying insect with a white furry body and a yellow tuft at the tail

A person who makes jewelry and other things from gold

green gold
  • Specialized
7.1

A mixture of gold and silver that has a slight green color

guinea gold vine
  • Australian
9.9

A climbing plant that stays green all year with large bright yellow flowers

guinea gold
  • Archaic
9.9

A 22-karat yellow gold used to make old British coins

guinea gold
  • Archaic
9.4

A reddish brass metal often used for cheap jewelry and fittings

hidden gold mine
  • Informal
6.0

A place or thing that has valuable information not easy to find

5.7

A dark yellow color with a little brown tone

paper gold
  • Specialized
8.9

Money the IMF creates to help member countries keep their currencies stable without physical gold

paper gold
  • Specialized
7.8

Financial products that let people invest in gold without holding physical gold

How Heavy

atomic number 77
  • Specialized
8.4
gold
1.0
lead
  • Specialized
231 7.0
iron
227 1.0
aluminum
  • US
143 2.6

Surface Forms

gold singular
golds plural

Etymology

Gold comes from an old German word meaning 'yellow' or 'shining', the same idea you can see in English words like yellow and glow. So the metal was named for its bright, yellow shine, which helps explain why gold became a symbol of wealth.