place card

American

[pleys kahrd] / ˈpleɪs ˌkɑrd /

noun

a small card with the name of a guest on it, placed on the table, to indicate where the person should sit.

place card British

noun

a card placed on a dinner table before a seat, as at a formal dinner, indicating who is to sit there

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of place card

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

“Insert a place card into the top of a gorgeous red or golden pear, or hollow out a pumpkin and fill it with fresh florals for your centerpiece,” Gardner suggests.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2023

"Behind my place card was a card for Lois. We all cried. Thank you @stephanie_asher for a beautiful Thanksgiving."

From Fox News • Nov. 26, 2021

I responded by turning my place card to her.

From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2020

At the holiday table, we left a place card for our late son.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2018

Matt ran back to his table with Maria trying to push past him and grab her place card.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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