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card - definition and synonyms

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noun     card pronunciation in British English
Word Forms
  1. 1
    [uncountable] British thick stiff paper, thinner than cardboard
    Synonyms and related words
  2. 2
    [countable] a piece of thick stiff paper folded into two equal parts, with a picture and a message on it

    She sent me a lovely card on my birthday.

    a card says/reads something:

    The card read, ‘Get Well Soon! Love from all at the office’.

    birthday/Christmas/get-well etc card:

    Did we get a Christmas card from your brother this year?

  3. 3
    [countable] one of a set of 52 small pieces of thick stiff paper used for various games. The set is called a pack or deck and is divided into four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.
    1. a.
      [countable] one of a set of small pieces of thick stiff paper used in games or activities such as happy families or tarot
    2. b.


      [plural] the activity of playing games with a set of 52 cards

      I’ve always been lucky at cards.

      play cards:

      Let’s play cards this evening.

      game of cards:

      There’s time for a quick game of cards.

    3. c.

      the cards

      [plural] playing cards or tarot used for trying to discover what will happen in the future

      The cards never lie.

      She said she had seen our future in the cards.

  4. 4
    [countable] a small piece of thick stiff paper or plastic that shows who you are and that you have authority or permission to do something

    I handed the assistant my library card.

    I can’t find my membership card for the sports centre.

    flash a card (=show someone a card quickly):

    They said they were police and flashed cards at us.

    1. a.
      a small piece of thick stiff paper with your name, your job, and the name of your company printed on it

      Let me give you my card.

    2. b.
      a piece of thick stiff paper on which you record information about something

      To register with the doctor you need your medical card.

      I looked at my score card.

    3. d.
      a list of the sports events that are planned to take place at a particular time

      There are six events on the card today.

  5. 5
    [countable] a small flat piece of plastic used for getting money from a bank, cash machine etc or for buying things. You are usually given a special number, called a PIN number, with your card so that you can get money from a machine

    I gave the waiter my card.

    She produced her Visa card and paid the bill.

  6. 6
    [countable] something that gives you an advantage in doing something
    someone’s strongest/best/trump/winning card:

    His strongest card was his friendship with the prince.

  7. 7
    [countable] computing a circuit board that fits inside a computer and connects to a particular piece of equipment such as a modem or computer screen

    You’ll have to install a new Ethernet card.

  8. 8
    [countable] informal old-fashioned someone who makes you laugh
  9. From our crowdsourced Open Dictionary
    off the cards highly unlikely

    The White House claimed that returning Guantanamo Bay to Cuba was off the cards.

    Submitted by Boris Marchenko from Russian Federation on 30/01/2015
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