golden ticket

American

[gohl-duhn tik-it] / ˈgoʊl dən ˈtɪk ɪt /

noun

Informal.

a way or chance to obtain something valuable or desirable that is often hard to get.

A lot of parents think that getting into a prestigious university is a golden ticket, but you have to work hard to make that opportunity count.
The serum contains proven ingredients that are a golden ticket to longer, healthier nails.

Etymology

Origin of golden ticket

First recorded in 1680–90

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.

See Examples For:

golden ticket

He will hold up his golden ticket and believe, as Mussolini believed, that the spectacle belongs to him.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

Melissa Krider thought she’d won the golden ticket when she discovered she’d been selected in the Great Smoky Mountains lottery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

Beware of assuming that if an adviser who typically serves wealthier people makes an exception for you, it’s a golden ticket.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026

The IIT degree, long India's most coveted credential, is beginning to look less like a golden ticket and more like a lottery.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026

There hadn’t been any golden ticket inside the wrapper.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023