blackjack

[ blak-jak ]
See synonyms for blackjack on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Cards.

    • Also called twen·ty-one [twen-tee-wuhn, twuhn-] /ˈtwɛn tiˈwʌn, ˈtwʌn ti-/ . a gambling game in which the object is to obtain from the dealer cards whose values add up to, or close to, 21 but do not exceed it.

    • a variety of this game in which any player can become dealer.

    • Also called natural . (in the game of blackjack) an ace together with a ten or a face card as the first two cards dealt.

  2. a short, leather-covered club, consisting of a heavy head on a flexible handle, used as a weapon.

  1. a small oak, Quercus marilandica, of the eastern United States, having a nearly black bark and a wood of little value except for fuel.

  2. a large drinking cup or jug for beer, ale, etc., originally made of leather coated externally with tar.: Compare bombard (def. 7).

  3. caramel or burnt sugar for coloring spirits, vinegar, coffee, etc.

  4. Mineralogy. a dark, iron-rich variety of sphalerite.

verb (used with object)
  1. to strike or beat with a blackjack.

  2. to compel by threat.

Origin of blackjack

1
First recorded in 1505–15; black + jack1

Words Nearby blackjack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use blackjack in a sentence

  • The problem was that I was a card counter: a professional blackjack player.

  • "blackjack" Donnely had made that clear in his trial in Texas.

    The Penal Cluster | Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
  • The next evening, "blackjack" Donnely was shot down at the front door of his own home.

    The Penal Cluster | Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
  • If that were so, he—or they—could make the late "blackjack" Donnely look like a meek, harmless, little mouse.

    The Penal Cluster | Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
  • The case, even at that point, might have ended with an acquittal or a hung jury, but Donnely wasn't through using his blackjack.

    The Penal Cluster | Ivar Jorgensen (AKA Randall Garrett)
  • He bit off a chew from his plug of "blackjack," and with calm eyes surveyed the doom toward which he was rushing.

    The Watchers of the Trails | Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for blackjack (1 of 5)

blackjack1

/ (ˈblækˌdʒæk) mainly US and Canadian /


noun
  1. a truncheon of leather-covered lead with a flexible shaft

verb
  1. (tr) to hit with or as if with a blackjack

  2. (tr) to compel (a person) by threats

Origin of blackjack

1
C19: from black + jack 1 (implement)

British Dictionary definitions for blackjack (2 of 5)

blackjack2

/ (ˈblækˌdʒæk) /


nouncards
  1. pontoon or any of various similar card games

  2. the ace of spades

Origin of blackjack

2
C20: from black + jack 1 (the knave)

British Dictionary definitions for blackjack (3 of 5)

blackjack3

/ (ˈblækˌdʒæk) /


noun
  1. a dark iron-rich variety of the mineral sphalerite

Origin of blackjack

3
C18: from black + jack 1 (originally a miner's name for this useless ore)

British Dictionary definitions for blackjack (4 of 5)

blackjack4

/ (ˈblækˌdʒæk) /


noun
  1. a small oak tree, Quercus marilandica, of the southeastern US, with blackish bark and fan-shaped leaves: Also called: blackjack oak

Origin of blackjack

4
C19: from black + jack 1 (from the proper name, popularly used in many plant names)

British Dictionary definitions for blackjack (5 of 5)

blackjack5

/ (ˈblækˌdʒæk) /


noun
  1. a tarred leather tankard or jug

Origin of blackjack

5
C16: from black + jack ³

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012