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.
Yet racing, at times, plays its fatality numbers as if it were a game of three-card monte.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2024
If you see anyone playing three-card monte or a shell game, just keep walking.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
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
"The old three card monte guys had to wait for people to walk around. Now you can reach out and find the three card monte enthusiast, and get them to come to you."
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2023
He’d learned sleight of hand from the cardsharps and monte runners on East Stave, and spent hours practicing it in front of a muddy mirror he’d bought with his first week’s pay.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
The atmosphere was Monte Carlo meets frat party — helicopters in and out, a beachside DJ set, beer pong tournaments.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Ceasar Reyes had 222 yards rushing and three touchdowns in win over South El Monte.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Monte Carlo models run thousands of scenarios to effectively stress-test a portfolio.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Delfin also holds major stakes in the bank Monte dei Paschi, the insurer Generali and the real estate giant Covivio, with a total estimated value of more than 40 billion euros.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Minerva graduates tomorrow and is moving to Monte Cristi to be with Manolo.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
