whist
1 Americannoun
interjection
adjective
noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
interjection
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has whistedperfect 3rd person singular
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have whistedperfect
-
have been whistingperfect progressive
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am whistingprogressive 1st person singular
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are whistingprogressive
-
has been whistingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
is whistingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
whistingparticiple
-
whistssingular 3rd person
Past
-
had whistedperfect
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were whistingprogressive plural
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was whistingprogressive singular
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whistedsimple
-
had been whistingperfect progressive
-
whistedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of whist1
1655–65; earlier whisk, perhaps identical with whisk, though sense relationship uncertain
Origin of whist2
1350–1400, Middle English; imitative
Explanation
Whist is a card game for four players that's similar to bridge and hearts. If you enjoy crazy eights, you'll probably also like playing whist. Whist is a fairly simple game in which two pairs of partners team up to try and take as many tricks (sequences of cards played in one turn) as possible. To win a whist trick, you must play the highest card in a particular suit. Whist has many variations, one of which led to the invention of bridge. Whist may come from whisk, in the sense of whisking the cards away, or its obsolete meaning, "silence."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They are often held when family and friends gather, get animated and talk smack amid a spades or bid whist card game where jokers and deuces are always wild.
From Salon • Jan. 1, 2024
Love, Peace & Spades is a safe and inclusive space for Black people to enjoy one another and play Uno, bid whist, Tunk, dominoes and spades.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2023
Bid whist, for our generation, was the national Black pastime.
From Washington Post • Oct. 18, 2022
These college students improved on some of the minor functions of whist in an attempt to keep the game moving, because they often had limited time to play it.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2021
‘No, no. My mother said it is a rising eye. But I was to keep whist and mum about it—unless even God has turned away His face. And Cilia ... you promised.’
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
