GOLD STANDARD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gold standard mean? 

• GOLD STANDARD (noun)
  The noun GOLD STANDARD has 2 senses:

1. a monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold

2. a paragon of excellence

  Familiarity information: GOLD STANDARD used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOLD STANDARD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("gold standard" is a kind of...):

monetary standard; standard (the value behind the money in a monetary system)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A paragon of excellence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

academic education is the gold standard against which other educational activity is pejoratively judged

Hypernyms ("gold standard" is a kind of...):

beau ideal; idol; paragon; perfection (an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept)

 Context examples 

In another just-released study in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, scientists in Thailand have found widespread malaria parasite resistance to artemisinin and combination therapies using artemisinin, considered the gold standard treatment.

(Malaria-carrying Mosquitoes Becoming Resistant to Bed Nets in Southern Africa, VOA)

Astronomers consider this the “gold standard” for detections of molecules.

(Stellar Corpse Reveals Origin of Radioactive Molecules, ESO)

For more than 60 years, DEET has been considered the gold standard in insect repellents—the most effective and long-lasting available commercially.

(Coconut Oil Compounds Repel Insects Better than DEET, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

The probability that a test will produce a true postive result when used on effected subjects as compared to a reference or "gold standard".

(Diagnostic Sensitivity, NCI Thesaurus)

The probability that a test will produce a true negative result when used on non-effected subjects as compared to a reference or "gold standard".

(Diagnostic Specificity, NCI Thesaurus)

Therefore, alphaDC1 has a much more significant capability of inducing helper T cell (CD4+ T-cell) responses in comparison with the "gold standard" DCs.

(Alpha-type-1 Polarized Dendritic Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

Researchers believe the test may be even more sensitive than the “gold standard” – a PET brain scan – at detecting the beginnings of amyloid deposition in the brain.

(New Alzheimer’s Blood Test Could Detect Signs of Symptoms Decades Earlier, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Unfortunately, X-ray crystallography, the gold standard for determining the structure of proteins, has many limitations when dealing with those found in the cellular membrane.

(Study shows limitations of method for determining protein structure, National Science Foundation)

The researchers offered children in the study an oral food challenge — the gold standard for diagnosing food allergy — which involved ingesting gradually increasing amounts of sesame under medical supervision and seeing if an allergic reaction occurred.

(17% of Food-Allergic Children Have Sesame Allergy, National Institutes of Health)