Meanings
- not comparableCostly or expensive; having a high price.
Doing careful research before purchasing big-ticket items such as electronics, appliances, and automobiles can ensure that an investment lasts for many years.
2 more examples
Other big-ticket projects are the Northern Powerhouse Rail proposed infrastructure upgrade, for which a budget of £39bn over 20 years has been sought, [...].
2020 December 2, Industry Insider, “The costs of cutting carbon”, in Rail, page 76For [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”.
2022 May 13, Eva Corlett, “As the shine comes off NZ Labour, Grant Robertson hopes his budget can steady the ship”, in The Guardian - not comparableOf major importance or prominence.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivevery expensive
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
big-ticket. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-ticket
“big-ticket.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-ticket. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big-ticket,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big-ticket.
Source: big-ticket on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.