blue-chip
/ˈbluːtʃɪp
/adjective [attributive]
1Denoting companies or their shares considered to be a reliable investment, though less secure than gilt-edged stock.Many investors look for reliable blue-chip companies with predictable, regular revenues - safe havens, if you like....
- Shares in big, blue-chip companies are easy to buy and sell because there are billions of shares in circulation, plus a lively market of buyers and sellers.
- Four traditional blue-chip companies update their investors next week.
1.1Of the highest quality: blue-chip art...
- In the present exhibition the seven participating artists are young and on the threshold of their careers hoping to make works that in time would translate into blue-chip art.
- The world's richest collectors are still prepared to pay almost any price for exceptional, blue-chip modern art - especially when it comes fresh to the market and with an impeccable provenance.
- No doubt he hopes to fire up the collecting ambitions of his sometimes troubled museum, which must compete for blue-chip art with many other powerful institutions.
Origin
Early 20th century (originally US): from the blue chip used in gambling games, which usually has a high value.
- incapacitated
- incapacitation
- incapacity
- incapacity benefit
- in capite
- in-car
- incarcerate
- incarceration
- incarcerator
- incarnadine
- incarnate
- incarnation
- incase
- in case of
- incaution
- incautious
- incautiously
- incautiousness
- incendiarism
- incendiary
- incendiary device
- incensation
- incense
- incense burner
- incense cedar