1
: British money
2
: sterling silver or articles of it
1
a
: of, relating to, or calculated in terms of British sterling
b
: payable in sterling
2
a
of silver
: having a fixed standard of purity usually defined legally as represented by an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper
b
: made of sterling silver
3
: conforming to the highest standard
sterling character
a sterling record of achievement
sterlingly
adverb
sterlingness
noun
Examples of sterling in a Sentence
Noun
a drop in the value of sterling
Adjective
a sterling example of democracy at work
credited the win to the pitcher's sterling performance on the mound
Recent Examples on the Web
Ian King, CNBC, 16 July 2025
The greenback is down versus the euro (-6%), British pound sterling (-5%), Swedish krona (-9%) and Norwegian krone (-7%), meaning Americans are paying more while traveling virtually anywhere in Western Europe this summer.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Zack Meisel, New York Times, 25 July 2025
Despite that seemingly blasé way the pair first met, the documentary is willing to get a bit more touchy-feely than Lewis herself, making a sterling argument that the duo were really just two pieces of one entity.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Further support has come from a decline in sterling, which has dropped 1.5% against the U.S. dollar to $1.339 over the past week, as Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey suggested the central bank would be more forceful with interest rate cuts if the labor market weakens.
—Ian King, CNBC, 16 July 2025
The greenback is down versus the euro (-6%), British pound sterling (-5%), Swedish krona (-9%) and Norwegian krone (-7%), meaning Americans are paying more while traveling virtually anywhere in Western Europe this summer.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Adjective
Twenty-four years ago, Ichiro captivated Major League Baseball with a sterling rookie season.
—Zack Meisel, New York Times, 25 July 2025
Despite that seemingly blasé way the pair first met, the documentary is willing to get a bit more touchy-feely than Lewis herself, making a sterling argument that the duo were really just two pieces of one entity.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterling
Cite this Entry
“Sterling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sterling. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sterling
1 of 2 noun
ster·ling
ˈstər-liŋ 
1
: British money
2
: sterling silver or articles of it
sterling
2 of 2 adjective1
: of or relating to British sterling
2
: being or made of an alloy of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of copper
sterling silver
3
Etymology
Noun
so called from the phrase "a pound sterling," meaning the British pound as a monetary unit, but originally "a pound (by weight) of sterlings," from Middle English sterling "silver penny"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share