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

Of note, be advised that the IIHS tends to concentrates its testing efforts on the industry’s best-selling vehicles, which often leaves out big-ticket luxury models at the upper end of the price spectrum and low-production sports cars. —Jim Gorzelany, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

The curation also has big-ticket items worth the splurge, including this cozy 2-piece set from Sofites. —Isabel Garcia, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024

Slow shopping also allows for more time to save up for big-ticket items. 73% of shoppers are ‘slow shopping’ Slow shopping is already catching on this year as the antidote to spur-of-the-moment buying habits, which experts largely consider many consumers’ Achilles heel. —Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2024

But many Americans are still struggling with big-ticket expenses like child and elder care costs, a forbidding housing market, steep insurance and debt payments and more. —Rob Wile, NBC News, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined at sense 1