gold reserve

noun

1. the stock of gold held by a government or central bank to back its promissory notes or currency or to settle its international debts.

gold reserve

noun

1. the gold reserved by a central bank to support domestic credit expansion, to cover balance of payments deficits, and to protect currency

Word History and Origins

Origin of gold reserve¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

The U.S. announcement to block gold transactions was done alongside Group of Seven and European Union allies that will also impose the gold reserve ban.

From Seattle Times

Venezuela has the sixth largest natural gold reserve in the world, with around 7,000 tonnes.

From BBC

China, famous for its opaque and misleading statistical reporting, only updates its gold reserve numbers every so often.

From Washington Times

Word passed over the 3rd Army headquarters telephone at 5:05 p.m., but as Patton recalls in his diary, he decided to wait before notifying higher-ups, “as it would be stupid to claim we had found the gold reserve and then not have done so.”

From Slate

Supplies of the gold reserve, shown above, are limited; the standard sourwood honey is more generally available.

From New York Times