Skip to main content
identity card

identity card

6 1.3
An official card with your name and photo that shows who you are
  • noun
  • /aɪˈdɛntɪti kɑrd/
  • Formal
translation icon : documento de identidad
  • I always, always make sure that I have my identity card with me.
  • national identity card
  • carry an identity card
  • show your identity card

Examples

  • I was stopped at a checkpoint, and they said, "show us your identity card."

    Academic text (2009)
  • The bus was stopped at the outskirts of Baghdad, and all identity cards were checked.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Your registration book and identity card, please.

  • Let's see your identity card.

  • Do they have identity cards that allow them to be counted as citizens?

    Academic text (2010)
  • Women were carrying their identity cards in one hand and bags of fresh bread in the other.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Any Kashmiri caught on the street without an identity card is in serious trouble.

    Academic text (2009)
  • What's needed for proper surveillance is a compulsory identity card that everyone must have.

    Blog text (32)
  • They're being issued identity cards, and the call comes, evacuation officers meet them at pre-arranged departure areas.

  • Can I see your identity card?

Synonyms

credential
vsidentity card
165 5.3

An official paper that shows a person's identity or qualifications

is limited to a government card used mainly to prove who someone is
identification
vsidentity card
135 2.9

A card or paper that shows who someone is

is a single official card rather than any form of supporting evidence
positive identification
vsidentity card
  • Formal
8 4.8

Clear proof that a person is who they say they are

is the regular authority-issued card rather than a legal confirmation process
proof of identity
vsidentity card
  • Formal
1 2.7

A document that shows who you are, like a passport or driver's licence

is the specific government card used as one form of that confirmation
I.D.
vsidentity card
3.0

A card like a badge that shows who you are and proves your age or job

is issued by authorities as the formal government proof of who someone is
ident
vsidentity card
  • UK
7.9

A badge worn to show who a person is in a workplace

is a government-issued card used as official proof rather than a worn badge

How Official

passport
  • Formal
325 1.3
identity card
  • Formal
6 1.3
proof of identity
  • Formal
1 2.7

Surface Forms

identity card singular

Morphology

identity + card

The meaning 'an official card that proves who a person is' is directly and compositionally derived from 'identity' (who a person is) plus 'card' (a small rectangular item). This noun‑noun compound pattern is transparent and cross‑linguistically common (e.g. ID card, carte d'identité), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Identity card comes from the simple idea of a small card that shows a person's identity, like their name and photo. Showing this little card proves 'who you are', so today it means an official card that 'proves identity'.