ticket

[ tik-it ]

/ ˈtɪk ɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ticket ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a slip, usually of paper or cardboard, serving as evidence that the holder has paid a fare or admission or is entitled to some service, right, or the like: a railroad ticket; a theater ticket.

a summons issued for a traffic or parking violation.

a written or printed slip of paper, cardboard, etc., affixed to something to indicate its nature, price, or the like; label or tag.

a slate of candidates nominated by a particular party or faction and running together in an election.

the license of a ship's officer or of an aviation pilot.

Banking. a preliminary recording of transactions prior to their entry in more permanent books of account.

Informal. the proper or advisable thing: That's the ticket! Warm milk and toast is just the ticket for you.

Archaic. a placard.

Obsolete. a short note, notice, or memorandum.

verb (used with object)

to attach a ticket to; distinguish by means of a ticket; label.

to furnish with a ticket, as on the railroad.

to serve with a summons for a traffic or parking violation.

to attach such a summons to: to ticket illegally parked cars.

Nearby words

Idioms

have tickets on oneself, Australian Slang. to be conceited.

Origin of ticket

1520–30; 1925–30 for def 4; earlier tiket < Middle French etiquet memorandum. See etiquette

Related formstick·et·less, adjectivere·tick·et, verb (used with object)un·tick·et·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ticket

Farrell issued a ticket to an 18-year-old shipyard worker for speeding and an improper exhaust mechanism, according to the TP.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One area that would immediately benefit is revenue from ticket sales.
Is Any College Football Coach Worth $60 Million? Jim Harbaugh Is|Jesse Lawrence|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everything you need to know about the U.S.-Cuba thaw, from the details of the deal to when you can book your ticket to Havana.
Up To Speed: The Cuba Embargo|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On Oct. 7, I bought my ticket to Kiev 45 minutes before my flight.
Russians Plot Exiled Government in Kiev|Anna Nemtsova|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

According to a ticket seller who spoke to The Guardian, the site still receives only 10 visitors a day, on average.
Egypt Ain’t The Only Pyramid Show In Town|Nina Strochlic|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When I sell a ticket to Shoshone, I'm the ticket agent, and nothing else.
Good Indian|B. M. Bower
It is wrong to raffle, anyway, says the chief of police, so it will serve them quite right—I shall not take a ticket.
Sweethearts at Home|S. R. Crockett
No candidate on this ticket has ever sought or held a political office or job.
'The System,' as uncovered by the San Francisco Graft Prosecution|Franklin Hichborn
He did not buy his ticket from the agent; the conductor would supply him, and when the long train rolled in he got aboard.
Northwest!|Harold Bindloss
A long-haired Hindu bairagi (holy man), who had just bought a ticket, halted before him at that moment and stared intently.
Kim|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for ticket

ticket

/ (ˈtɪkɪt) /

noun

a piece of paper, cardboard, etc, showing that the holder is entitled to certain rights, such as travel on a train or bus, entry to a place of public entertainment, etc
(modifier) concerned with or relating to the issue, sale, or checking of ticketsa ticket office; ticket collector

a piece of card, cloth, etc, attached to an article showing information such as its price, size, or washing instructions

a summons served for a parking offence or violation of traffic regulations

informal the certificate of competence issued to a ship's captain or an aircraft pilot

mainly US and NZ the group of candidates nominated by one party in an election; slate

mainly US the declared policy of a political party at an election

British informal a certificate of discharge from the armed forces

informal the right or appropriate thingthat's the ticket

have tickets on oneself or have got tickets on oneself Australian informal to be conceited

verb -ets, -eting or -eted (tr)

to issue or attach a ticket or tickets to

informal to earmark for a particular purpose

Word Origin for ticket

C17: from Old French etiquet, from estiquier to stick on, from Middle Dutch steken to stick ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ticket

ticket

1520s, "short note or document," from a shortened form of Middle French etiquet "label, note," from Old French estiquette "a little note" (late 14c.), especially one affixed to a gate or wall as a public notice, from estiquer "to affix, stick on, attach," from Frankish *stikkan, cognate with Old English stician "to pierce" (see stick (v.)).

Meaning "card or piece of paper that gives its holder a right or privilege" is first recorded 1670s, probably developing from the sense of "certificate, license, permit." The political sense of "list of candidates put forward by a faction" has been used in American English since 1711. Meaning "official notification of offense" is from 1930; parking ticket first attested 1947. Big ticket item is from 1970. Slang the ticket "just the thing, what is expected" is recorded from 1838, perhaps with notion of a winning lottery ticket.

ticket

1610s, from ticket (n.). Related: Ticketed; ticketing.

Idioms and Phrases with ticket

ticket

see just the ticket; meal ticket; split ticket; straight ticket; write one's own ticket.

ticket

noun

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of ticket

Examples from the Web for ticket

ticket

noun

verb -ets, -eting or -eted (tr)

Word Origin for ticket

ticket

ticket

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