Definition of "monometallism" [mon•o•met•al•lism]

• The economic theory or practice of using only one metal as a monetary standard. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The United States effectively put gold on top in 1834, although British-style monometallism was not wholly adopted until 1900."
• "She paid it with a rapidity that amazed the world, but in her hour of weakness she consented to gold monometallism."
• "In short, the amount of grain England has made clear because of the rest of the world adopting monometallism would bread all her people, feed all her live stock, and make three gallons of whiskey for every person on the island."