a small rectangular piece of stiff paper marked with numbers, symbols, or pictures, used in games like poker, bridge, or magic tricks
Maya shuffled the deck of cards before dealing.
He pulled a single card from the top and gasped at the ace of spades.
✦ From Middle English carde, from Old French carte, from Latin charta “paper, leaf of paper”.
a folded or single piece of thick paper with a picture and message that you give or send to someone on a special occasion, such as a birthday or holiday
Tom sent his grandmother a bright birthday card.
She opened the Christmas card and smiled at the family photo inside.
a small plastic rectangle issued by a bank or company that lets you pay for goods and services or withdraw money electronically
You can tap your card on the machine to pay.
His card was declined because he had reached the limit.
an official piece of plastic or stiff paper that proves who you are or shows that you belong to a particular group
The security guard checked my student card at the gate.
Carry your ID card when you travel abroad.
informal: a person who is amusing or eccentric and makes other people laugh
Uncle Joe is such a card—he always makes everyone laugh.
She's a real card at parties.
computing: a small circuit board that you insert into a computer to add or improve functions such as graphics, sound, or network connectivity
I installed a new graphics card to improve game performance.
The sound card stopped working after the power surge.
to ask someone to show official proof of age, especially before selling alcohol or cigarettes
The clerk carded me when I tried to buy wine.
If you look under 30, the bartender will card you.
to brush wool, cotton, or other fibers with special wire tools so that they lie in the same direction and are ready for spinning
After shearing, workers card the wool to remove tangles.
The spinning wheel won’t work until the fibers are carded.
✦ From Middle English carden “to comb fibers”, related to card as a tool.
to get rid of something that you no longer want or need.
I need to discard these old newspapers.
Please discard the packaging after opening.
✦ From late Middle English, alteration of obsolete French descarter 'to undeck the cards in a game', based on des- (expressing reversal) + carte 'card'.
something that has been thrown away or rejected.
The discard from the factory was recycled.
These books are just discard now.
in a card game, to play a card from your hand that is not part of a meld.
It's your turn to discard a card.
She had to discard the queen of hearts.
✦ Originally referred to removing a card from one's hand in card games, from French descarter.
a small card that has a word or question on one side and its answer or meaning on the other side, used for learning or remembering information quickly.
The students flipped through their flashcards before the test.
My mom made flashcards to help me learn the times tables.
✦ Early 20th century. From 'flash' (to study or learn something quickly by looking at it briefly) + 'card'. Invented as a tool for rapid memorization and spaced repetition learning.
