Golden

/ˈɡoʊl.dən/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Kyphosus vaigiensis, a fish found in southeast Asia.
  • Grammar: golden is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: favorable, gilded, achingly sweet, advantageous.
  • Useful contrasts: argentous, colorless, dark age.
  • Usage evidence: Speech is silver, but silence is golden.

How to use "golden"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "golden" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "golden" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "golden" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "golden" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "golden" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "favorable" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "golden", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Kyphosus vaigiensis, a fish found in southeast Asia.
  2. 2
    Ellipsis of Golden Retriever. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

    "In Britain, the Golden Retriever Breed Clubs’ Rescue Officers nationwide rescued and rehomed 454 Goldens in 1987."

  3. 3
    Ellipsis of golden retriever. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

    "The archives of the Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) record goldens in the United States as early as the 1890s."

Verb
  1. 1
    To become gold or golden (in color). intransitive
  2. 2
    To make golden or like gold. transitive

    "It goldened, as nothing else goldened, the commonplace countryside."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Made of, or relating to, gold.

    "She wore a golden crown."

  2. 2
    Having a color or other richness suggestive of gold.

    "Under a golden sun."

  3. 3
    Of a beverage, flavoured or colored with turmeric.
  4. 4
    Marked by prosperity, creativity etc.

    "The Renaissance was a golden era."

  5. 5
    Advantageous or very favourable.

    "This is a golden opportunity"

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    Relating to a fiftieth anniversary.

    "It's not long until our golden wedding."

  2. 7
    Relating to the elderly or retired.

    "After retiring, Bob and Judy moved to Arizona to live out their golden years."

  3. 8
    Fine, without problems. UK, predicative, slang

    "Many anti-fog variety goggles are available, but if you don't get that type, just rub a little spit on the lenses before you put them on in the water and you'll be golden."

Adjective
  1. 1
    presaging or likely to bring good luck or a good outcome wordnet
  2. 2
    suggestive of gold wordnet
  3. 3
    having the deep slightly brownish color of gold wordnet
  4. 4
    supremely favored wordnet
  5. 5
    marked by peace and prosperity wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    made from or covered with gold wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A female given name. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    A male given name. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A town in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A village in County Tipperary, Ireland. countable, uncountable
Show 15 more definitions
  1. 6
    A hamlet in Probus parish, Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SW9246). countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A number of places in the United States:; A home rule municipality, the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Idaho County, Idaho. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A number of places in the United States:; A village in Adams County, Illinois. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A number of places in the United States:; A township in Oceana County, Michigan. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A number of places in the United States:; A village in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Barry County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
  8. 13
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Burt County, Nebraska. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    A number of places in the United States:; A township in Holt County, Nebraska. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town and census-designated place in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Josephine County, Oregon. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Wood County, Texas. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Box Elder County, Utah. countable, uncountable
  14. 19
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
  15. 20
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Marshall County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
favorablegildedachingly sweetadvantageousadvantageousagreeable

Antonyms

argentouscolorlessdark agelow standard

Example

"Speech is silver, but silence is golden."

Common questions

What does "golden" mean?

Kyphosus vaigiensis, a fish found in southeast Asia.

What is a synonym for "golden"?

Common synonyms include: favorable, gilded, achingly sweet, advantageous, advantageous, agreeable.

How do you use "golden" in a sentence?

Speech is silver, but silence is golden.

How do you pronounce "golden"?

Pronounced /ˈɡoʊl.dən/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English golden, a restored form (due to the noun gold) of earlier Middle English gulden, gylden, gilden ("golden"; > English gilden), from Old English gylden (“golden”), from Proto-West Germanic *gulþīn, from Proto-Germanic *gulþīnaz (“golden, made of gold”), equivalent to gold + -en. Cognate with Dutch gouden, gulden (“golden”), German gülden, golden (“golden”), Danish gylden (“golden”). Doublet of gilden. More at gold.

Etymology 2

From gold + -en, or perhaps a derivation from the adjective above.

Etymology 3

* As an English surname, from the adjective golden. * As an Irish surname, from mag Ualghairg; see McGoldrick.

More for "golden"

Synonyms

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