Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
card trick

card trick

14 2.8
A trick that uses playing cards to entertain people
  • noun
  • /kɑrd trɪk/
: truco de cartas
  • She practiced her card trick for hours to ensure it would wow her friends at the gathering.
  • a good card trick
  • perform a card trick
  • practicing card tricks

And so I thought it would be interesting to do a card trick backwards.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • At the party, he amazed everyone with his impressive card trick that made a chosen card appear from thin air.

  • In a card trick, the magician fans out the cards and says, "Pick one."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The crowd loves the card trick in Act 2.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • So, someone please ask me to see a card trick! Or do I have to wait till I hit 30?

    Blog text (30)

  • I used to practice card tricks and table magic 8 hours a day.

    Death Defying Acts (2007)

  • Do you know any more card tricks?

    The Seventh Victim (1943)

  • I was showing Brandon my latest card trick.

    Shadowed (2013)

  • I knew card tricks and went around with a deck demonstrating my magical skills.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I hear you're pretty good with card tricks, Fitzwacker.

    Diggstown (1992)

  • Roy, 17, lugging a big suitcase, walks through and takes a seat near Mintz, who's doing card tricks for his own pleasure.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

trick
vscard trick
274 2.3

A clever act that looks like magic and entertains people

is narrower, using small game objects handled by the performer
illusion
vscard trick
59 4.2

A magic trick that makes something look impossible

is a specific use of that deception centered on one hand-held prop
magic trick
vscard trick
44 2.7

A performance that looks impossible and surprises people

limits performances to routines using a single familiar hand-held prop
parlour trick
vscard trick
  • UK
11 6.7

A simple magic trick to amuse people at a small party

is instead a focused routine using a single hand-held prop
conjuring trick
vscard trick
1 4.9

A magic trick that seems to break natural rules to surprise and amuse people

uses one familiar hand-held prop rather than many varied acts

How Impressive

spectacle
72 4.2
illusion
59 4.2
card trick
14 2.8
party game
10 1.2

Surface Forms

card trick singular
card tricks plural

Morphology

card + trick

The meaning 'a trick performed using playing cards' is directly and compositionally derived from 'card' (a playing card) + 'trick' (an illusion or deceptive feat), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the full meaning. This noun-noun compound is a transparent, cross-linguistically common pattern, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Card trick comes from magicians who use a card and quick hand moves to hide, change, or find a chosen card, making a surprising trick. That's why it means 'a trick with playing cards'.