card Definition

card¹
noun

1. A kind of thick, stiff paper or thin cardboard.
2. A rectangular piece of card bearing a design, usually one of a set, used eg for playing games, fortune-telling, etc.

Form: playing card (also)
3. A small rectangular piece of card or plastic, showing eg one's identity, job, membership of an organization, etc.
4. A small rectangular piece of stiff plastic issued by a bank, etc to a customer, used eg instead of cash or a cheque when making payments, as a guarantee for a cheque, for operating a cash machine, etc. See also credit card, debit card.
5. computing.
A piece of card on which information is stored in the form of punched holes or magnetic codes.
6. A piece of card, usually folded double and bearing a design and message, sent to someone on a special occasion.

Example: Christmas card
7. A postcard.
8. old use, colloq
An amusing person.
9. horse-racing.
A racecard.
10. Games played with playing cards.

Form: cards
11. An employee's personal documents held by their employer.

Form: cards

verb carded, carding

1. To enter in card index.
2. sport, especially football.
To be shown a yellow card or red card by the referee, resulting in either a booking or dismissal from the field.
Form: be carded

Idiom: the cards are stacked against someone or something

colloq
Circumstances do not favour them.

Idiom: get one's cards

colloq
To be dismissed from one's job.

Idiom: have a card up one's sleeve

In an argument or contest: to have something prepared, which can be used to one's advantage, but which has not yet been revealed to one's opponents.

Idiom: hold all the cards

colloq
To have the stronger or strongest position of opposing parties; to have all the advantages.

Idiom: lay one's cards on the table (put one's cards on the table)

colloq
To announce one's intentions, reveal one's thoughts, etc openly.

Idiom: on the cards

colloq
Likely to happen.

Idiom: play one's best (play one's strongest card, play one's trump card)

colloq
To make use of one's strongest advantage.

Idiom: play one's cards close to one's chest

To be secretive about one's intentions.

Idiom: play one's cards right

colloq
To make good use of one's opportunities and advantages.

Etymology: 15c: from French carte, from Latin charta, from Greek chartes papyrus leaf.

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card²
noun

1. A comb-like device with sharp teeth for removing knots and tangles from sheep's wool, etc before spinning, or for pulling across the surface of cloth to make it fluffy.

verb

carded, carding
1. To treat (wool, fabric) with a card.

Derivative: carding
noun

Etymology: 15c: from French carde teasel head, from Latin carduus thistle.