golden ticket

noun

plural golden tickets

: an extremely valuable opportunity or means of access to something desired

Back in 2005, the little-known playwright Glen Berger snagged a golden ticket of a job: writing the script for a Spider-Man musical directed by the MacArthur-certified genius Julie Taymor (The Lion King), with a score by U2's Bono and the Edge.—

Thom Geier

The bachelor's degree, he thinks, is the golden ticket that makes a career and everything else possible.—

Thomas Frank

… everyone I fight, I am their golden ticket because they know if they can beat me, they will make a name for themselves and go on to bigger and better things.—

James Degale

Examples of golden ticket in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Staff Pick: The buzzy new bachelor’s degree: AI Leila Register / NBC News Not long ago, a computer science degree was once seen as a golden ticket to high-paying tech jobs. —

Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 30 July 2024 Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. —

Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 21 June 2024 Once live, guests enter their information for the chance to receive a digital golden ticket and book the experiences through the app. —

Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 May 2024 The Rickwood Field game on Thursday between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals is so big that a trio of dignitaries knocked on the doors of former Negro Leagues players in Birmingham, Alabama, and presented them with golden tickets to be honored on the special day. —

Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 15 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for golden ticket

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'golden ticket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of golden ticket was in 1890

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Golden ticket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/golden%20ticket. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

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