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.
The findings suggest that BFAs could function as a durable chemical "calling card" that helps preserve information about individual identity.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
But thanks to El Sistema, thinking big became his calling card at the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Or is the Scotland faithful's new calling card here to stay?
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Few things are a better calling card for queer counterculture than a Daft Punk deep cut.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
“I have fifty-seven minutes left on this stupid calling card and I have so much to tell you. Sit somewhere.”
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
