Also called monte bank. a gambling game played with a 40-card pack in which players bet that one of two layouts, each consisting of two cards drawn from either the top or bottom of the deck and turned face up, will be matched in suit by the next card turned up.
a gambling card game of Spanish origin
informal a certainty
1815–25; < Spanish: mountain, hence, heap (of cards); see mount 2
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But these dynamics are uncertain in a play that treats identity like a game of three-card monte.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2024
Activists at the time raised the alarm as they treated burns on animals displaced by the fires, including monitos del monte, - small nocturnal marsupials - and pudus, the world's smallest deer.
From Reuters ● Jul. 13, 2023
Now you can reach out and find the three card monte enthusiast and get them to come to you, instead of the other way around.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2023
In the wide-open world of grifts and schemes, an overinflated basketball may not rank with identity theft, Facebook come-ons from a Nigerian prince or even a hurried game of three-card monte.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 18, 2023
On any given late afternoon or evening, up to a dozen serious men might be seated around this table intently playing cards—poker, blackjack, monte, hearts, even bridge occasionally, you name it.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Monte Carlo simulations run thousands of scenarios on your portfolio and can be more accurate than the inflation-adjusted 4% withdrawal rule.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Alejandro, 13, said that the sight of his father’s red and black Monte Carlo parked outside of their family home “just makes me miss him a lot.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
Since its founding in 1916, the 1-square-mile town has used directional descriptors — City Hall is on the east side of Monte Verde Street between Ocean and 7th avenues — instead of building numbers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Intesa and Monte dei Paschi shares are little moved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Monte Alban is atop a steep, 1,500-foot hill that overlooks the valley of Oaxaca.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
