faro
noun
a gambling game in which players place bets on a special board or layout, betting on each series of two cards as they are drawn from a box containing the dealer's or banker's pack.
faro
1 American
[fair-oh]
/ ˈfɛər oʊ /
noun
Cards.
Faro
2
American
[fah-r oo]
/ ˈfɑ rʊ /
noun
Faro
1
British
/ ˈfɑːrəʊ /
noun
faro
2
British
/ ˈfɛərəʊ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of faro
1725–35; spelling variant of Pharaoh (compare Italian faraone, French pharaon ), alleged to be originally a designation for the king of hearts in the game. See Pharaoh
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.
See Examples For:
New York, for example, had 6,000 gambling houses in the 1850s, where visitors could try their luck at games such as faro, chuck-a-luck, loo, all-fours, hearts, euchre, Boston, and whist.
From Slate ● May 26, 2022
The other day I made faro spaghetti Bolognese and we opened two very very nice Italian wines — a Barolo and a Brunello.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2019
One of the earliest card games played in Las Vegas — a faro board, circa 1900 — is on display.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2017
Dorothy’s family history also extends back to that time; her great grandfather was a faro card dealer in one of Skagway’s saloons in the 1890s.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 14, 2015
He could get a job dealing faro in Reno—regular hours and no dames.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Cypress graduated CIF-SS Division 3 player of the year Isabella Faro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Local Spanish television station El Faro broadcast footage showing young people, including a 14-year-old girl, making the "V" sign for victory sign after crossing into the European nation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Border police at Portugal's Faro airport also told the BBC the Entry Exit System technology suffered from bugs, but insisted any queues there would go down quickly.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
The Grammy-nominated Welsh singer had been placed in an induced coma after emergency intestinal surgery in May in Faro, Portugal, where she resides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Faro bounded around the tractor, his feet stirring up small sprays of dirt with each bound.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
