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to buy a ticket

to buy a ticket

32 1.0
To pay money for permission to travel or go to an event
  • phrasal verb
  • /baɪ ə ˈtɪkɪt/
translation icon : comprar una entrada
  • If you want to see the concert, you need to buy a ticket online.

Go to the airport, buy a ticket, go through security, right?

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Examples

  • He bought a ticket on the Titanic.

  • But that person might have bought a ticket just to meet me.

  • So yeah, recently, the other day, I just bought a ticket to Mexico City to go for the Day of the Dead festival.

  • Go to the bus station, buy a ticket home, then wait in that restaurant.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • His message seemed clear: If you want to hear me perform, buy a ticket.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I called the bus station and bought a ticket to Richmond.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • To avoid a painful movie, I wait until the last minute to buy a ticket.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • She bought a ticket on Air France and took the first plane to Paris.

  • I leaned my pack against a tree, bought a ticket, and entered.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Teresa Mendoza's just bought a ticket to Madrid through Mexico City.

Synonyms

to buy
vsto buy a ticket
1.0

To get something by paying money

is limited to obtaining admission for events or journeys
to purchase
vsto buy a ticket
760 1.8

To buy something by paying money

is used specifically for getting admission to events or journeys

Antonyms

Decide not to go to an event or activity

Surface Forms

buy a ticket infinitive
buying a ticket present participle
buys a ticket third person singular
bought a ticket past participle

Morphology

buy + a + ticket

The meaning 'to purchase admission' is directly and transparently derived from the verb 'buy' combined with the noun 'ticket' (the article 'a' is merely grammatical). This is a straightforward verb + object construction common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

The phrase buy a ticket comes from a simple scene: you give money and get a small paper that lets you enter an event. The verb buy means to pay and the noun ticket is that paper, so the phrase now means 'to pay for entry'.