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Glite Dictionary
2️⃣ The number 21 🃏 A card game
twenty-one

twenty-one

2 3.5
A card game where players try to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over
  • noun
  • /ˈtwɛntiˌwʌn/
translation icon : veintiuno

Examples

  • She had good instincts and beat me twenty-one to eleven.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • When I was twenty-one, I discovered my figure and bought a bikini with thick pads in the bra.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I married at twenty-one.

    Blog text (31)

  • During the casino night, everyone gathered around the table to play twenty-one and test their luck against the dealer.

  • She learned the rules of twenty-one quickly and soon became one of the best players at the table.

  • At the party, they decided to play twenty-one to see who could get the closest to twenty-one without going over.

Synonyms

blackjack
vstwenty-one
44 4.4

A card game where players try to get a hand value close to 21 without going over

is the same game but given under a different name
vingt-et-un
vstwenty-one
9.9

A card game where players try to have cards that add up to 21 or less and beat the dealer

is the modern standard version rather than the older form

Surface Forms

twenty-one singular
twenty-ones plural

Morphology

twenty-one = twenty-one (semi-transparent) = twenty + one

The game name comes directly from the number twenty-one, but knowing the number alone does not fully let a learner predict the specific card game sense.

Etymology

Twenty-one for the card game comes from old European names like French vingt-et-un, which mean 'twenty and one', because the aim is to have cards that add up to 21 without going over.