library card

American

noun

a card issued by a library to individuals or organizations entitling them or their representatives to borrow materials.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

library cards

plural

Etymology

Origin of library card

First recorded in 1965–70

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:

library card

And last year, I got a library card, paying about $40 total so that I could take full advantage of the Amsterdam public libraries’ book collection.

From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2026

A group of leading authors are calling for every newborn baby to be signed up for a library card automatically at birth.

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025

The planning began the way all great overcommitments do: with a library card.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025

“Your library card is worth its weight in gold these days because of the tremendous resources available at our libraries,” says Trejo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024

Mr. Falk, to whom I had returned my library card, gave me a quick, secret smile.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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