hit the jackpot

Idioms  

1. Be highly successful, especially unexpectedly; win, especially a lot of money. For example, She hit the jackpot at the auction; that platter turned out to be genuine Meissen. This term comes from a form of poker in which a hand can be opened only if one holds at least a pair of jacks (or higher). Often a number of hands must be dealt before anyone can open, and since players must put in money for each round, the jackpot, or total amount held, is apt to be quite large. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hit the jackpot

It wasn’t long after their final interview, held over dinner at Spago in Beverly Hills, that Kroenke understood he’d hit the jackpot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

Looking back, Ann Sheppard, 73, from Reading, thinks she must have hit the jackpot.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2025

But they felt as if they had hit the jackpot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2025

The Aztecs’ bruising forward continued to hit the jackpot in the following days.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

Claudia and her brother had hit the jackpot while hiding out at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai