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Synonyms

calling card

American  
[kaw-ling kahrd] / ˈkɔ lɪŋ ˌkɑrd /

noun

  1. Also called card, visiting card.  a small card with the name and often the address of a person or of a couple, for presenting when making a business or social call, for enclosing in gifts, etc.

  2. Informal. any mark, sign, trace, characteristic, or the like by which someone or something can be recognized.

  3. Also called phone card.  a prepaid card or charge card that can be used to make a telephone call at home or away from home.

calling card British  

noun

  1. Also called: visiting card.  a small card bearing the name and usually the address of a person, esp for giving to business or social acquaintances

"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

Etymology

Origin of calling card

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

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.

Few things are a better calling card for queer counterculture than a Daft Punk deep cut.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

Volatility has been silver’s calling card in recent months but even by recent standards the last week has been a roller-coaster ride.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

And when a group of OpenAI employees formed Anthropic in 2021, attempting to make AI safety the new company’s calling card, she went with them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Connection, viewed without sentimentality, is Squibb’s calling card.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025

She shooed him away, but not before he left a calling card.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

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.