Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very expensive; involving a large amount of money: Used to describe items, purchases, or programs that have a high cost or price tag.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The company's annual budget meeting focused on several big-ticket projects.
  • When planning a wedding, the venue and catering are often the big-ticket expenses.
  • Consumers are more cautious about buying big-ticket items during an economic downturn.

Advanced Usage

• "big-ticket item": A common collocation referring to a single, costly product or purchase.
  • A new refrigerator is a big-ticket item for most households.
• Used to emphasize the scale of financial commitment in business, government, or personal finance contexts.
  • The senator argued against the big-ticket infrastructure bill.

Variants and Related Words

• High-ticket (adj): A less common synonym with the same meaning.
  • The store specializes in high-ticket jewelry.
• Major purchase (noun phrase): A descriptive term for a big-ticket item.

Synonyms

• Costly: Involving a high cost.
• Expensive: Commanding a high price.
• High-priced: Having a large price tag.
• Major: Significant in scale or cost (e.g., a major investment).

Antonyms

• Inexpensive: Low in price.
• Budget: Designed for or involving a small amount of money.
• Low-cost: Inexpensive.

Related Phrases

• Big-ticket spending: Expenditure on very expensive items.
  • The report analyzed trends in consumer big-ticket spending.
• While not a phrasal verb, the term is often part of the compound adjective "big-ticket" used directly before a noun.

Adjective

1. very expensive
   • big-ticket items like cars and furs
   • a big-ticket government program