big-ticket
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.57 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of major importance or prominence.
Example Sentences
- "Doing careful research before purchasing big-ticket items such as electronics, appliances, and automobiles can ensure that an investment lasts for many years."
- "Other big-ticket projects are the Northern Powerhouse Rail proposed infrastructure upgrade, for which a budget of £39bn over 20 years has been sought, [...]."
- "For [Grant] Robertson, that means investing significantly in the worn-out health system and pumping money into climate change solutions – big-ticket concerns he says he “owes to people”."
Etymology
Emerged in the United States in the 1930s; refers directly to the literal paper price tags or receipts ("tickets") attached to retail goods; larger, more expensive purchases (like appliances, cars, or furniture) required more prominent, high-value price tags; over time, the phrase transitioned from describing the physical tag to figuratively describing the expensive item itself.