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Synonyms

postcard

American  
[pohst-kahrd] / ˈpoʊstˌkɑrd /
Or post card

noun

  1. Also called picture postcard.  a small, commercially printed card, usually having a picture on one side and space for a short message on the other.

  2. postal card.

postcard British  
/ ˈpəʊstˌkɑːd /

noun

  1. Also called (US): postal card.  a card, often bearing a photograph, picture, etc, on one side, ( picture postcard ), for sending a message by post without an envelope

"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 postcard

First recorded in 1865–70; post 3 + card 1

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.

Not that the film is an idyllic picture postcard.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

Up in Bormio and Cortina, alpine skiing has found a postcard backdrop of actual Alps.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

The Number 38 bus service threads a north-south path through Edinburgh, far from the picture postcard version of Scotland's capital.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025

A postcard from Pandora would showcase its floating mountains, bioluminescent forests and sentient hot-air balloons.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2025

“I mean, they probably won’t answer, right? And she might not be staying there. She could have bought the postcard in a gift shop or something.”

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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.