ticket
Americannoun
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tickets
plural
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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.
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a summons issued for a traffic or parking violation.
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a written or printed slip of paper, cardboard, etc., affixed to something to indicate its nature, price, or the like; label or tag.
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a slate of candidates nominated by a particular party or faction and running together in an election.
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the license of a ship's officer or of an aviation pilot.
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Banking. a preliminary recording of transactions prior to their entry in more permanent books of account.
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Informal. the proper or advisable thing.
That's the ticket! Warm milk and toast is just the ticket for you.
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Archaic. a placard.
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Obsolete. a short note, notice, or memorandum.
verb (used with object)
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tickets,
present (3rd person singular)
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ticketed,
past participle, past
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ticketing
present participle
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to attach a ticket to; distinguish by means of a ticket; label.
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to furnish with a ticket, as on the railroad.
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to serve with a summons for a traffic or parking violation.
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to attach such a summons to.
to ticket illegally parked cars.
idioms
noun
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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
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(modifier) concerned with or relating to the issue, sale, or checking of tickets
a ticket office
ticket collector
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a piece of card, cloth, etc, attached to an article showing information such as its price, size, or washing instructions
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a summons served for a parking offence or violation of traffic regulations
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informal the certificate of competence issued to a ship's captain or an aircraft pilot
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the group of candidates nominated by one party in an election; slate
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the declared policy of a political party at an election
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informal a certificate of discharge from the armed forces
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informal the right or appropriate thing
that's the ticket
-
informal to be conceited
verb
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to issue or attach a ticket or tickets to
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informal to earmark for a particular purpose
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ticketsimple
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ticketssimple
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have ticketedperfect
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has ticketedperfect
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am ticketingprogressive
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are ticketingprogressive
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is ticketingprogressive
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have been ticketingperfect progressive
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has been ticketingperfect progressive
Past
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ticketedsimple
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had ticketedperfect
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was ticketingprogressive
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were ticketingprogressive
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had been ticketingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ticket
1520–30; 1925–30 ticket for def. 4; earlier tiket < Middle French etiquet memorandum. See etiquette
Explanation
A ticket is the slip of paper or card you need to be admitted to a movie theater, a museum, or an airplane. Your ticket proves that you've paid or been invited. Other types of tickets include the ones you get as a receipt or bill, and the kind a traffic officer hands you when you're caught driving 40 miles per hour in a 30 MPH zone. In the U.S., ticket is also used to mean "ballot," as in "I'm not excited either of the candidates on that party's ticket." If someone tells you "That's the ticket!", they mean you've made exactly the right choice.
Vocabulary lists containing ticket
U.S. Government - Introductory
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U.S. Government - Middle School and High School
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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:
Around the same time, the ticket machines were proving similarly unreliable about accepting credit cards.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
LA28 officials have reported that they have collected revenues — particularly from corporate sponsorships and ticket sales — that exceed projections.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
In a message to ticket holders on Monday morning, Yorkshire Wildlife Park said anyone with a booking would be contacted within the next five days to reschedule.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
He’s reminding them who their meal ticket is.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2026
Ira Baker, the train station agent, opened the ticket window at the Amagansett train station.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Alfozan, his wife and another family member had booked one-way tickets to Saudi Arabia, according to the complaint.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
A decade later—after stints at Meta Platforms and a startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz—Alfozan allegedly booked one-way plane tickets from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia for himself, his spouse and a family member.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
A settlement reached last week requires the NGO to stop selling additional flights as part of the programme, while allowing previously purchased tickets to remain valid.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Send your favorite money tip for saving on anything from gas and groceries to plane tickets to [email protected], and we’ll share it in next week’s newsletter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Clutching their second-class train tickets, Penelope helped the children up the steep metal stairs.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The trailer driver was not injured, but he was ticketed for having a vehicle that exceeded the maximum height.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The company has pitched privately funded projects in cities including Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles, where the startup stood to make money from ticketed passengers using its underground transit system.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
It launched a sub-brand called D&B Unlocked, a ticketed event discovery platform in which guests can sift through upcoming nightlife offerings at their local arcade.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Admissions taxes from all ticketed events accounted for nearly 9% of the city’s general fund, according to budget documents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
A good cop, after all, wasn’t the one who ticketed you for doing thirty- three miles an hour in a thirty-mile-an-hour zone.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
"I'm not sure what the future holds for ticketing, I do know this experience has really opened my eyes," she said in a statement shared on her social media accounts, external.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
"We are seeing more and more regular people willing to pay for a special experience at sport," says Richard Flint, chairman of Seat Unique, an online platform specialising in hospitality and VIP ticketing for events.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The group said the Lakers are on track to generate $681 million in revenue in 2026, with ticketing and media rights accounting for the largest share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Federal appropriations for the Kennedy Center cover operations, maintenance and other campus expenses, while the institution’s employee payroll and lineup of artistic programming is funded separately through ticketing, fundraising and other non-federal revenues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
He would take my place packing, I was told, and would learn the ticketing machine.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
