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Synonyms

in the cards

Idioms  

  1. Likely or certain to happen, as in I don't think Jim will win—it's just not in the cards. This term, originally put as on the cards, alludes to the cards used in fortune-telling. [Early 1800s]

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.

If rolling meatballs is not in the cards on a weeknight, no worry.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

So far, this doesn’t seem to be in the cards, said Ellie Geranmayeh, Iran expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Fatherhood wasn’t in the cards for me, but I love being Tío Guti to my nephew and the children of my friends.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

But pulling off a repeat performance in graphics processing units might not be in the cards, even with the current artificial-intelligence boom.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

I might have been a good girl if it had been in the cards.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

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.