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cards

cards

5 1.0
Games you play with a set of playing cards
  • noun
  • /kɑrdz/
translation icon : juegos de cartas
  • And it's time that the cards are played face up on the table.
  • credit cards
  • play cards

I have six wild cards and six banana ones.

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Examples

  • Let's pick a couple of cards and shuffle.

  • Then you deal with three cards facing up on the top.

  • These are just fun cards for kids to play a game with.

  • And now we'll probably play some cards, eat some dinner and go to sleep.

  • OK, can you put your cards there please?

  • OK, so this tells me how many cards I played in this game.

  • ARE YOU GONNA READ THAT BOOK ALL NIGHT OR DO YOU WANT TO PLAY SOME CARDS?

    The Rig (2010)

  • HE DEALS THE CARDS, AND WE PLAY THEM.

    Spud (2010)

  • SO...YOU PLAY CARDS, HUH?

    Bogus (1996)

  • Let's gather around the table and play a few cards together.

Synonyms

card game
vscards
43 1.1

A game played with playing cards, for example poker, that often needs skill or luck

is the shorter, more informal name for that same type of game

Idioms

in the cards
  • Informal
17 6.1

Likely to happen

house of cards
  • Informal
12 5.1

A plan or organization that seems strong but is actually weak and likely to fail

to hold the cards
  • Informal
8 6.1

To have control or an advantage in a situation

to hold all the cards
  • Informal
7 5.5

To have complete control and a strong advantage in a situation

to put cards on the table
3 4.6

To be completely open and honest about your plans or feelings

to keep one's cards close to one's chest
  • Informal
1 7.6

To not tell people your plans or feelings to get an advantage

to fall apart like a house of cards
  • Informal
6.5

Suddenly fail completely because it is weak or badly built

few cards shy of a full deck
  • Slur
9.9

Not thinking clearly or not very intelligent

to hand someone their cards
  • Informal
9.3

To tell someone they have lost their job or show the truth about their situation

to play all one's cards
  • Informal
6.9

To show all your plans and what you can do

Compounds

deck of cards
15 1.4

A complete set of 52 playing cards used in games like poker and bridge

pack of cards
1 1.6

A set of 52 cards used for playing games

house of cards
1 6.0

A tall, fragile structure made by stacking playing cards together

How Complex

tachistoscope
  • Specialized
9.9
memory apparatus
  • Archaic
9.9
cards
5 1.0

Surface Forms

cards plural
card singular

Morphology

cards = card (transparent) = card + s

Simple plural formation from the noun 'card'; the meaning 'playing cards/games' is the standard count-noun sense.

Etymology

The word cards comes from the old Latin word charta, which means 'paper' or 'leaf'. That's why cards are small pieces of paper or cardboard used for games and notes.