calling card
Americannoun
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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.
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Informal. any mark, sign, trace, characteristic, or the like by which someone or something can be recognized.
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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.
noun
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
The forester examined the tree and found D-shaped holes — the calling card of the goldspotted oak borer — where the beetles had chewed through the tree to emerge from the bark.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026
With 2.5 million views on YouTube, the scene became a calling card for the show—and Sheridan’s point of view.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025
She hastily slid her calling card behind the trash can, adjusting it so it could be seen by someone looking for it but not spotted as trash.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
