big-ticket
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of big-ticket
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But maybe you can’t rip the beating heart out of the patient and expect it to keep marching in with big-ticket donations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
For more than a decade, Los Angeles’ premier sports teams — the Lakers and the Dodgers — have relied on big-ticket TV rights deals to boost their operations and player payrolls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
But he also highlighted a divide between spending on essentials and spending on big-ticket items.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
"What we're talking about is small margins of benefit, where actually these athletes who focus on the food, I think what you often find is that they've got the big-ticket items right," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“A sled’s a big-ticket item. It ain’t no can of green peas. Whatcha got?”
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
