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open sesame

noun

ˌō-pən-ˈse-sə-mē How to pronounce open sesame (audio)
Definition of open sesamenext
as in key
something that allows someone to achieve a desired goal it turned out that a simple "please" was the open sesame for charming the hotel manager into giving us a room with a better view

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of open sesame As Snider used Dorothy as an open sesame to the closed world of Playboy, so Hefner planned to use Dorothy as the open sesame to the closed world of major motion pictures. — Lili Anolik, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for open sesame
  1. key
  2. ticket
  3. gateway
Noun
  • The key was in combining two advanced nanomaterials that were previously useless on their own.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Hahn is also the DJ of Linkin Park, the man behind the keys and record scratches that give the band its distinct blend of genres.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of key
Noun
  • This year, 51 percent of ballet-ticket buyers were under the age of 50 with 20-somethings in the majority of those seats.
    — Fiorella Valdesolo, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The winner told lottery officials that the $10 lottery ticket purchase was on a whim.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of ticket
Noun
  • In the near future, these platforms are positioned to break through as the gateway to the internet — and information — to billions of people across the world.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
  • And today’s LLMs are able to call on other computational modules to fill in their weak spots, so language is the gateway to ever-broader capacity.
    — George Musser, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of gateway

Browse Nearby Words

open secret
open sesame
open sesames
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Open sesame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/open%20sesame. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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