gold star


noun

a gold-colored star displayed, as on a service flag, to indicate that a member of one's family, organization, or the like, was killed in war as a member of the armed forces.
Informal.
  1. symbolic approval or recognition for outstanding merit or effort: You get the gold star for cooking such a gourmet dinner.
  2. anything that represents an outstanding effort or achievement: Her promotion was the gold star she'd been working for.

Origin of gold star

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

OTHER WORDS FROM gold star

gold-star, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for gold star