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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

The computer-science degree was supposed to be a golden ticket.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

A computer-science degree is no longer a golden ticket.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Filmmakers who’ve had unforeseen success don’t get chocolate — they get a golden ticket to direct a passion project the next time around.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

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

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

That was the golden ticket, because Martha Karolyi would select the next artistic gymnastics women’s senior and junior national teams based on the results at Nationals.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

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