playing card

American  

noun

• playing cards
  plural

1. one of the conventional set of 52 cards in four suits, as diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs, used in playing various games of chance and skill.

2. one of any set or pack of cards used in playing games.

---

playing card British  

noun

1. one of a pack of 52 rectangular stiff cards, used for playing a variety of games, each card having one or more symbols of the same kind (diamonds, hearts, clubs, or spades) on the face, but an identical design on the reverse See also suit

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• playing cards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of playing card

First recorded in 1535–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

playing card

The new device replaces the traditional chest piece with a device around the size of a playing card.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025

Inside a meeting hall for the Royal Canadian Legion, a few dozen members were waiting out a snowy afternoon playing card games and snacking from a box of Tim Horton doughnuts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024

STAHLS’ personalizes two jerseys for each draft pick, including one handed to the player onstage and another that is used as part of his rookie playing card pack.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024

There’s wide speculation on how playing cards eventually made it to Europe, playing card historian Peter Endebrock told Atlas Obscura in 2020.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 3, 2023

Joyce entertained the kids inside, playing card games and making fudge and cocoa on the woodstove.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown