golden ticket

noun

plural golden tickets

: an extremely valuable opportunity or means of access to something desired

Back in 2005, the little-known playwright Glen Berger snagged a golden ticket of a job: writing the script for a Spider-Man musical directed by the MacArthur-certified genius Julie Taymor (The Lion King), with a score by U2's Bono and the Edge.

—Thom Geier

The bachelor's degree, he thinks, is the golden ticket that makes a career and everything else possible.

—Thomas Frank

… everyone I fight, I am their golden ticket because they know if they can beat me, they will make a name for themselves and go on to bigger and better things.

—James Degale

Examples of golden ticket in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For Pritzker or whoever prevails, the golden ticket could be a strong policy on data centers. — Patrick McNamara, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

The pay is so high that landing an entry-level analyst position at an investment bank feels like a golden ticket, especially for a first-generation student, a student from a low-income background, or a student with any student loan debt. — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026

That’s because computer science, then seen as a golden ticket to a high-paying job, was exploding in popularity. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026

Winning a Grammy Award might seem like landing a dream golden ticket that opens every door. — Andrew Gilbert, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for golden ticket

• chicot
• cricket
• picket
• picot
• thicket
• wicket