canasta
Americannoun
noun
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a card game for two to six players who seek to amass points by declaring sets of cards
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Also called: meld. a declared set in this game, containing seven or more like cards, worth 500 points if the canasta is pure or 300 if wild (containing up to three jokers)
Etymology
Origin of canasta
1945–50; < Spanish: literally, basket, apparently variant of canastro < Greek kánastron wicker basket ( see canister)
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.
Nursing a canasta defeat nearby, Jacque Deuser, 67, said the way Mr. Biden sometimes walked reminded her of her late husband, who had dementia.
From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2023
Once, Messersmith and his roommate, catcher John Olerud, rallied to beat teammates Jim Coates and Marty Pattin in a tense game of canasta.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2022
Gente circense adopta a un niño encontrado en una canasta que tiene un gemelo víctima de un plan para cobrar su herencia.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2020
The “bible”, a kind of taco encyclopedia which he plans to publish, was the foundation for the show’s six episodes on barbacoa, carnitas, carne asada, tacos de canasta, guisados, and al pastor.
From The Guardian • Jan. 3, 2020
My least favorite day...but today has been tolerable because Tía Mari invited Mami’s old canasta friends for a Sunday barbecue.
From "Before We Were Free" 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.
