drawing card

American  

noun

1. a person who or thing that attracts attention or patrons.

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drawing card British  

noun

1. theatre a performer, act, etc, certain to attract a large audience

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drawing card Idioms  

1. A feature or event that attracts a large audience. For example, This Italian tenor is always a good drawing card. Card in this idiom refers to a large poster containing an advertisement for something, often some sort of entertainment. [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of drawing card

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

drawing card

A group of leading stars, however, want a greater share of the event's revenue to be distributed throughout the field - arguing they remain the main drawing card.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026

The pizza, seafood and otherwise, got all the headlines, but it wasn’t the biggest drawing card.

From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2025

DeGeneres is a brilliant comedian, but that was not her central drawing card toward the end of her career, a problem no publicist could fix.

From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2022

The Brewers needed a drawing card, and Aaron fit the bill nicely for two seasons, ending his big league career where he’d long ago started it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2021

My youth quickly made me a much bigger drawing card than my father.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

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