ticket

[tik-it]

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.

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

Related Words for ticket

license, certificate, coupon, admission, receipt, record, paper, voucher, passport, permit, document, check, card, sticker, notice, key, slip, passage, chit, label

Examples from the Web for ticket

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of ticket

It was five minutes to four when she purchased her ticket to New York.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
What if he should get into a train without a ticket, or send a guard to procure one for him?
Life in London
Edwin Hodder
Of course, he was going, but the perplexing thing was, what to do with that other ticket.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
If you miss any meals, your ticket is good until it is punched.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
He breakfasted at Mrs. McKee's, and was initiated into the mystery of the ticket punch.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for ticket

ticket

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

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.

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.