all that glitters is not gold

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Also seen as: all that glisters is not gold

Meaning · English

Things that appear valuable or worthwhile might not actually be so; things that appear nice might not be as good as they appear.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Những thứ lấp lánh không phải lúc nào cũng là vàng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

All that gliſters is not gold, Often haue you heard that told, […]

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “all that glitters is not gold” mean?

Things that appear valuable or worthwhile might not actually be so; things that appear nice might not be as good as they appear.

Is “all that glitters is not gold” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.