jackpot
n. countablen. a very large amount of money that someone wins in a game or competition. You can also use it to describe a sudden, great success in life or work.
n. the highest prize in a game of chance, or a large, unexpected success. Often used figuratively to describe a highly advantageous outcome.
He won the jackpot on a scratch card.
The startup hit the jackpot when a major tech firm offered to buy their software for millions.
While the lottery jackpot remains the primary draw for most players, the statistical probability of winning is so low that it is often described as a tax on the mathematically challenged.
Attested as jack-pot (“big prize”), 1944; from sense "slot machine" (1932), from obsolete poker sense (1881) "antes that begin when no player has a pair of jacks or better"; from jack (“playing card”) + pot.
Unknown. Criminal slang usage as "trouble, especially an arrest" attested 1902.
Commonly used with the verb 'hit' to describe achieving a sudden or massive success.