card

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈkärd 

1

: playing card

2

cards plural in form but singular or plural in construction

a

: a game played with cards

b

: card playing

3

a

: something (such as an advantage) compared to a valuable playing card in one's hand

holding all the cards in negotiations

b

: an issue especially with emotional appeal that is brought into play to achieve a desired end (such as winning a political campaign)

played the race card

4

a

: greeting card

a birthday card

b

: a flat stiff usually small and rectangular piece of material (such as paper, cardboard, or plastic) usually bearing information: such as

(1)

: postcard

(2)

: credit card

(3)

: business card

(4)

: one bearing a picture (as of a baseball player) on one side and usually statistical data on the other

(5)

: one on which computer information is stored (as in the form of punched holes or magnetic encoding)

(6)

: one bearing electronic circuit components for insertion into a larger electronic device (such as a computer)

(7)

: visiting card

c

: program

especially : a sports program

three fights on the card

d(1)

: a wine list

(2)

: menu

5

informal + old-fashioned : a usually clownishly amusing person : wag

He's such a card!

6

: compass card

card

2 of 5

verb (1)

carded; carding; cards

transitive verb

1

: to ask for identification (as in a bar)

We all got carded.

2

: score

a golfer carding a 75

3

: to place or fasten on or by means of a card

4

: to provide with a card

5

: to list or record on a card

card

3 of 5

verb (2)

carded; carding; cards

transitive verb

: to cleanse, disentangle, and collect together (fibers) by the use of cards preparatory to spinning

carder noun

card

4 of 5

noun (2)

1

: an instrument or machine for carding fibers that consists usually of bent wire teeth set closely in rows in a thick piece of leather fastened to a back

2

: an implement for raising a nap on cloth

card

5 of 5

abbreviation

cardinal

Phrases

in the cards or less commonly on the cards

: inevitable

success just wasn't in the cards for her

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• menu

Examples of card in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the diners asked if there were any specials on the card for the evening

you're really a card, but save the jokes for after class

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Beck cards a 29-30, 13 under, to match Al Geiberger’s second round of the 1977 Memphis Classic. 1992 — Deion Sanders, plays for Atlanta Falcons (NFL) and Braves (Baseball) on the same day. 2009 — Kurt Warner passes for 301 yards in Arizona’s 28-21 win over Houston. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024

Sarah Lim, Saratoga golf: Posted two excellent performances, carding a 2-under 35 at Coyote Creek in a win over Los Gatos and a 4-under 30 in a win over Milpitas at Saratoga Country Club. —Christian Babcock, The Mercury News, 7 Oct. 2024

Noun

Where digital infrastructure is robust, labor costs are high and card payments are common, self-checkouts not only reduce costs but also enhance the customer experience. —Mustafa Khanwala, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

The card and gift retailer recalled about 11,000 of the ornaments over mold concerns. —Jason Rossi, The Enquirer, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English carde, from Anglo-French, alteration of Middle French carte, probably from Old Italian carta, literally, leaf of paper, from Latin charta leaf of papyrus, from Greek chartēs

Noun (2)

Middle English carde, from Medieval Latin cardus, carduus, thistle, carding instrument, from Latin carduus thistle — more at chard

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1861, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing card

• affinity card
• bank card
• be given one's card
• bingo card
• blister card
• boarding card
• business card
• calling card
• card-carrying
• card catalog
• card game
• card index
• card shark
• card sharp
• card table
• cash card
• charge card
• cheque card
• Christmas card
• compass card
• court card
• courtesy card
• credit card
• cue card
• dance card
• debit card
• donor card
• drawing card
• expansion card
• face card
• five-card stud
• flash card
• get one's card
• gift card
• green card
• greeting card
• greetings card
• hole card
• ID card
• identification card
• identity card
• index card
• key card
• mass card
• memory card
• note card
• on one's bingo card
• phone card
• picture card
• playing card
• postal card
• punch card
• red card
• report card
• scratch card
• seven-card stud
• SIM card
• smart card
• sound card
• store card
• swipe card
• three-card monte
• time card
• tourist card
• trading card
• union card
• use/play the race/gender card
• vanity card
• video card
• visiting card
• wild card
• yellow card

Kids Definition

card

1 of 4 verb

ˈkärd 

: to clean and untangle fibers by combing with a card before spinning

carder noun

card

2 of 4 noun

: an instrument usually having bent wire teeth for combing fibers (as wool or cotton)

card

3 of 4 noun

1

: playing card

2

plural

a

: a game played with cards

b

: card playing

3

informal : an amusing person : wag

—used especially in the past

4

: a flat stiff usually small and rectangular piece of paper, thin cardboard, or plastic: as

a

: postcard

b

: such a card on which computer information is stored

c

: credit card

d

: greeting card

5

: a sports program

6

: a removable circuit board (as in a personal computer)

card

4 of 4 verb

1

: to provide with a card

2

: to ask for identification

Etymology

Noun

Middle English carde "instrument for combing fibers," from Latin cardus, carduus "instrument for combing fibers, thistle," from earlier Latin carduus "thistle"

Noun

Middle English carde "playing card," from early French carte (same meaning), probably from early Italian carta, literally, "leaf of paper," from Latin charta "piece of papyrus" — related to carton, cartoon, chart