Definition

1. Noun:

   • A precious yellow metallic element: A soft, malleable, and ductile metal with the chemical symbol Au, highly valued for its rarity, beauty, and use in jewelry, coinage, and industry.
   • Great wealth or money: A term used to represent riches, money, or something of immense value.
   • The color of the metal: A deep, shiny yellow color.
   • Something precious or excellent: Used figuratively to describe something of the highest quality or great moral worth.

2. Adjective:

   • Made of gold: Consisting of or covered with the metal gold.
   • Having the color of gold: Being deep yellow or yellowish-brown in color.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The ring is made of solid gold.
  • He pursued fame and gold.
  • She painted the sunset in shades of gold.
  • Her kindness shows she has a heart of gold.

• Adjective:

  • She wore a gold necklace.
  • The fields were gold in the evening light.

Advanced Usage

• "as good as gold": Used to describe someone, especially a child, who is very well-behaved.

  • The children were as good as gold during the ceremony.

• "a heart of gold": Used to describe a very kind and generous nature.

  • Despite his rough appearance, he has a heart of gold.

• "worth its weight in gold": Describing something or someone extremely useful or valuable.

  • A reliable assistant like her is worth her weight in gold.

Variants and Related Words

• Golden (adjective): Made of, containing, or resembling gold; also meaning excellent, favorable, or marked by prosperity.

  • They celebrated their golden anniversary.
  • He missed a golden opportunity.

• Gild (verb): To cover thinly with gold.

• Goldsmith (noun): A person who makes gold articles.

Synonyms

• Bullion: Gold or silver in bulk before coining.
• Fortune: A large amount of money or assets.
• Aureate: A literary synonym for golden in color or style.

Related Phrases

• Gold standard: A monetary system where a currency's value is directly linked to gold; also, a benchmark of excellence.

  • This textbook is the gold standard in its field.

• Strike gold: To find something very valuable or to become suddenly successful.

  • The company struck gold with its new product.

Idioms

• All that glitters is not gold: A warning that not everything that looks valuable or true turns out to be so.

  • The job offer seemed perfect, but all that glitters is not gold.

• Silence is golden: It is often better to remain silent than to speak.

  • When you don't know what to say, remember that silence is golden.

Adjective

1. having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
   • long aureate (or golden) hair
   • a gold carpet
2. made from or covered with gold
   • gold coins
   • the gold dome of the Capitol
   • the golden calf
   • gilded icons

Noun

1. something likened to the metal in brightness or preciousness or superiority etc.
   • the child was as good as gold
   • she has a heart of gold
2. great wealth
   • Whilst that for which all virtue now is sold, and almost every vice--almighty gold--Ben Jonson
3. a soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent and univalent) metallic element; occurs mainly as nuggets in rocks and alluvial deposits; does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine and aqua regia
4. a deep yellow color
   • an amber light illuminated the room
   • he admired the gold of her hair
5. coins made of gold