big-ticket

adjective

big-tick·​et ˈbig-ˈti-kət 

1

: having a high price

the car was a big-ticket item

2

: having great importance or prominence : major

The founders had hoped to address three big-ticket issues: the environment, nuclear weapons, and Middle East peace.

—David Corn

Synonyms

• costly
• dear
• expensive
• extravagant
• high
• high-end
• high-ticket
• precious
• premium
• priceless
• pricey
• pricy
• spendy [chiefly Northwest]
• ultraexpensive
• valuable

Examples of big-ticket in a Sentence

with the tough economy, fewer people are likely to be making big-ticket purchases

Recent Examples on the Web

Education is another big-ticket area, with $19 billion in projects listed. —Adam Tamburin, Axios, 5 Feb. 2025

And while bills for things like food and utilities may be lower for one person than two or more, costs for big-ticket items like rent don’t get cut proportionally for households of one. —Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 31 Jan. 2025

Spending on big-ticket items jumped at an annual rate of more than 12%, which may have been driven partly by a desire to buy before any of the new tariffs threatened by President Trump kick in. —Scott Horsley, NPR, 30 Jan. 2025

Maybe Beane could work some contract magic for a big-ticket free agent, fans hoped. —Tim Graham, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined at sense 1