gold fever: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Informal, sometimes literary/historical.
Quick answer
What does “gold fever” mean?
A state of intense, irrational excitement and desire triggered by the prospect of finding gold or getting rich quickly from gold discoveries.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A state of intense, irrational excitement and desire triggered by the prospect of finding gold or getting rich quickly from gold discoveries.
A metaphorical state of frenzied enthusiasm, greed, or mass obsession for any activity or investment promising sudden, spectacular wealth or success, often leading to irrational behavior.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning. More historically resonant in American English due to the 1849 California Gold Rush. In British English, often associated with historical gold rushes in colonies (e.g., Australia, South Africa).
Connotations
Both varieties share connotations of greed, historical adventure, and economic speculation. Slightly more likely to be used literally in American historical contexts.
Frequency
Higher frequency in American English, but the term is understood internationally.
Grammar
How to Use “gold fever” in a Sentence
[person/place] was gripped by gold feverGold fever spread through [community]to catch gold feverthe gold fever of [period/event]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “gold fever” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The prospectors were utterly gold-fevered.
- The town gold-fevered itself into bankruptcy.
American English
- Investors got gold-fevered over the new tech stock.
- He's been gold-fevering since he found that old map.
adverb
British English
- They searched gold-feverishly for months.
- He worked gold-feveredly, ignoring all else.
American English
- Speculators bought gold-feverishly, driving up prices.
- They dug gold-feveredly into the hillside.
adjective
British English
- The gold-fever crowd descended on the remote valley.
- He had a gold-fever glint in his eye.
American English
- The gold-fever mentality led to reckless decisions.
- She wrote about the gold-fever era.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used to describe irrational exuberance in markets (e.g., 'The dot-com bubble was a kind of digital gold fever.').
Academic
Appears in historical, economic, and sociological texts analyzing resource booms and mass behavior.
Everyday
Used to describe someone overly excited about a potential windfall (e.g., 'He's got gold fever about that lottery ticket.').
Technical
Not a technical term, but used descriptively in economics (behavioral finance) and history.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “gold fever”
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “gold fever”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “gold fever”
- Using it to describe simple excitement without the irrational, greedy, or mass-behavior component (e.g., 'I have gold fever for my new job' is weak). Treating it as an adjective ('gold-fever investors' is borderline; 'gold-fevered' is rare/archaic).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. While its origin is literal, it is now commonly used as a metaphor for any intense, often irrational, rush for sudden wealth or success (e.g., 'tech stock gold fever', 'bitcoin gold fever').
Rarely. It typically carries a negative or cautionary connotation, highlighting greed, loss of judgment, and the destructive potential of speculative frenzies, even if the initial excitement seems positive.
A 'gold rush' is the actual event—the mass migration and activity to a goldfield. 'Gold fever' is the psychological state—the excitement, greed, and irrationality—that drives and characterizes a gold rush. You catch the fever, which leads you to join the rush.
Yes, but mostly in historical, journalistic, or metaphorical contexts. You are more likely to read it in an article about economic bubbles or history than hear it in daily conversation, unless used figuratively for a contemporary craze.
A state of intense, irrational excitement and desire triggered by the prospect of finding gold or getting rich quickly from gold discoveries.
Gold fever is usually informal, sometimes literary/historical. in register.
Gold fever: in British English it is pronounced /ˌɡəʊld ˈfiːvə/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌɡoʊld ˈfiːvər/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “struck by gold fever”
- “gold fever in the air”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a prospector with a feverish, flushed face, obsessively sifting river sand, thinking only of GOLD. The 'fever' is not illness, but uncontrollable heat/desire.
Conceptual Metaphor
INTENSE DESIRE IS A FEVER / THE PURSUIT OF WEALTH IS A DISEASE.
Practice
Quiz
In which of the following contexts is the term 'gold fever' used most appropriately?