Meaning & use
golden opportunity
Last updated
UK/ˌɡəʊldən ɒpəˈtjuːnəti/
US/ˌɡoʊldən ɑːpɚˈtuːnəti/
Meaning
nouncountable
A very good chance to do or gain something that may not come again.
Grammar: Takes a: a golden opportunity, not a golden opportunities, unless plural.
Patterns
- a golden opportunity to do something
- a golden opportunity for something
Moving abroad was a golden opportunity to learn a new language.
He missed the golden opportunity to meet the director.
The sale is a golden opportunity for buyers.
Word forms
| plural | golden opportunities |
|---|
Common combinations
- miss a golden opportunity
- Don't miss this golden opportunity.
- seize a golden opportunity
- She seized the golden opportunity to speak.
- a golden opportunity to learn
- The internship is a golden opportunity to learn.
- waste a golden opportunity
- They wasted a golden opportunity to win.
- provide a golden opportunity
- The festival provides a golden opportunity to sell crafts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- great chance
- Great chance is plain and flexible, but golden opportunity makes the chance sound more rare and valuable.
- windfall
- A windfall is unexpected money or luck, not just a chance to act.
- big break
- Big break is a first major chance in a career and is more informal.
- opportunity
- Opportunity alone is neutral and does not stress rarity.
Opposites
dead endmissed chance
Word family
- golden adjective
- made of gold or excellent
- opportunity noun
- a favorable chance
- opportune adjective
- happening at a good time
- opportunist noun
- a person who takes every chance for advantage
Commonly confused: golden opportunity or golden rule?
golden opportunity vs golden rule
The golden rule is a basic principle of how to behave, not a chance.
Practice
Being invited to play at the national final was a ____ for the young band.
Choose one answer.
Golden opportunity is the fixed phrase. Golden option and golden occasion are not idiomatic.
Make it your own
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