face card

American

noun

the king, queen, or jack of playing cards.

face card British

noun

Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): court card. (in a pack of playing cards) a king, queen, or jack of any suit

"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 face card

First recorded in 1665–75

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.

That sums up the Supreme Court’s unenviable hand, which doesn’t contain as much as a face card, let alone an ace.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2024

Only in this season, they're face card games, pitting players against seemingly invincible Jacks, Kings and Queens.

From Salon • Dec. 31, 2022

If the card is not a face card, you lose $2, no matter what the coin shows.

From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020

When a dealer is showing a face card, proper strategy suggests a player should always hit on 16.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2019

However, the conditional probability that the card is a face card given that it’s a king is 1, or 100 percent.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023