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
Thom GeierThe bachelor's degree, he thinks, is the golden ticket that makes a career and everything else possible.—Thomas Frank
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
James DegaleExamples of golden ticket in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Last week, Kitti Taye, an aerospace analyst from Laveen, Arizona, who says she was encouraged to audition by a casting director who saw her videos on TikTok, won a golden ticket.
—Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 9 Feb. 2026
Finding a job in computer science — a field that until recently felt like a golden ticket to a high-paying and stable career — has already become far more competitive as AI takes on more of that work, reducing the number of job opportunities.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
An industry that was once a golden ticket, minting dozens of billionaires, is going through difficult times.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Luke Bryan asks as Bryant leaves his audition with not only a golden ticket to Hollywood Week but also a fiancée.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for golden ticket
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Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 9 Feb. 2026
Finding a job in computer science — a field that until recently felt like a golden ticket to a high-paying and stable career — has already become far more competitive as AI takes on more of that work, reducing the number of job opportunities.
—Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
An industry that was once a golden ticket, minting dozens of billionaires, is going through difficult times.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Luke Bryan asks as Bryant leaves his audition with not only a golden ticket to Hollywood Week but also a fiancée.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for golden ticket
Cite this Entry
“Golden ticket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/golden%20ticket. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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