/ˈhɪt ðə ˈd͡ʒækpɒt/
English idiom, informal. To be lucky, often by pure chance.
Draft Not yet checked by a native English speaker.
How do people use Hit the jackpot
?
Informal and very common, used for anything that turns out far better than expected: a cheap flat, a great job, a parking space right outside. The past tense is also “hit”: “we hit the jackpot”. It can still mean actually winning a big prize, so context does the work.
Also said strike the jackpot
Hit the jackpot
in real sentences
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We hit the jackpot.
Tatoeba, sentence by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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My sister hit the jackpot.
Tatoeba, sentence by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Hit the jackpot
come from?
English Wiktionary traces “jackpot” to poker: in 1881 it meant a pot that kept growing until someone could open the betting with a pair of jacks or better. By 1932 it meant a slot machine’s top prize, and the general sense of a big windfall followed. Hitting the jackpot started out as winning that prize for real and spread to any stroke of luck.
Mistakes learners make with Hit the jackpot
Learners say “hitted the jackpot” or “hit a jackpot”. The past is “hit”, and it’s always “the jackpot”.
Other English idioms like Hit the jackpot
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