as in key
something that allows someone to achieve a desired goal it turned out that a simple "please" was the open sesame for charming the hotel manager into giving us a room with a better view

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of open sesame For something cozy, but not basic: Ask Rabble Coffee for an open sesame: a latte with tahini, dates, orange, cinnamon and chili pepper. Arika Herron, Axios, 10 Sep. 2024 But is an ‘Alexandria in the cloud’ really an open sesame? Susan Tallman, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for open sesame
Noun
  • From interns documenting their experiences at their first conference to a CEO celebrating a new product launch, the key is simply to make social part of your company culture.
    Bradley Keenan, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
  • The key is balance — don’t sacrifice your family or your well-being for your reputation.
    Valerie Mesa, People.com, 15 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • My kids and their friends are really desperate to get a ticket because that’s a generation that has never seen the Gallagher brothers on stage together.
    Billboard Italy, Billboard, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Jarett Allen from Burnsville won $5,000,000 in the N.C. lottery on Thursday, Jan. 9, after purchasing a $30 200X The Cash ticket from his local Riverside General Store, according to an official news release.
    Escher Walcott, People.com, 13 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Immediately after the Voyager returned its first images of Saturn's strange feature, even stranger theories arose to explain it, including that it was somehow related to alien technology, or perhaps even was a gateway to hell.
    Ailsa Harvey, Space.com, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The city is the gateway to Puglia’s Salento peninsula, which is known for fantastic beaches on both the Adriatic and Ionian seas.
    Laura Itzkowitz, AFAR Media, 15 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near open sesame

Cite this Entry

“Open sesame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/open%20sesame. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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