Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
💵 A source of income 🍽️ A food voucher
meal ticket

meal ticket

1 3.8
A ticket that lets you get a meal at a restaurant or cafeteria
  • noun
  • /miːl ˈtɪkɪt/
translation icon : vale de comida
  • You also got rid of our meal ticket.

Examples

  • She received meal tickets from the shelter that provided food for the needy.

  • They evolved with half a dozen smaller species who took advantage of their size and less-than-fastidious nature for a free meal ticket.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • At the college cafeteria, students must show their meal tickets to get their lunch.

  • The charity distributed meal tickets to families struggling to afford groceries.

Synonyms

coupon
vsmeal ticket
187 1.7

A ticket you give to get a discount or free item

is specifically for a free meal at a restaurant or cafeteria
luncheon voucher
vsmeal ticket
  • UK
4.2

A ticket from an employer you can use to pay for a meal at a restaurant or cafe

is a broader voucher for meals at restaurants or cafeterias

Surface Forms

meal ticket singular
meal tickets plural

Morphology

meal + ticket

The compound links 'meal' (sustenance) with 'ticket' (an entitlement or means of access), so a learner could plausibly infer 'something that secures meals' — i.e. a source of support or income. However, this requires a metaphorical shift from a literal entitlement to the abstract notion of regular income or livelihood, so the relation is only partially predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

The noun meal ticket was originally a small paper or card that let you get a meal at a canteen or restaurant; the ticket showed you had the right to food, so it means 'a coupon or voucher'.