Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

brass ring

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.98 in modern English

Syllables: brass ring
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A prize or goal, often a chance to advance in one's career.

American usage

Example Sentences

"He's going for the brass ring."
"Another Kennedy Reaches for the Brass Ring [title] The latest entry in the political Irish sweepstakes is Teddy Kennedy, the President's 30-year-old brother."
"I'm holdin' on / I can't fall back / Now that big brass ring / Is a shade of black"
"As a perversion of freedom it was, like any perversion, erotic; as alienation it carried the frisson of having just missed the brass ring, a sensation that always brought one back for more."
"The one thing considered the brass ring in selling insurance was making a sale on a cold canvass. Cold canvassing was the most dreaded exercise for most insurance salesmen."
"The key on immigration — and I’m anti- any immigration. I want a moratorium on all immigration right now because I want American citizens to get a shot at the brass ring."

Etymology

Some fairground carousels offer a prize to a rider who manages to grab a brass ring.

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

brass rings (plural)

Questions

What does brass ring mean?: A prize or goal, often a chance to advance in one's career.
Where does brass ring come from?: Some fairground carousels offer a prize to a rider who manages to grab a brass ring.

How to pronounce brass ring

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “brass ring”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “brass ring”.
Repeat and practice — Say “brass ring” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.