red card

American

noun

Soccer. a red card shown by the referee to a player being sent off the field for a flagrant violation.

red card British

noun

a card of a red colour displayed by a referee to indicate that a player has been sent off

"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

verb

(tr) to send off (a player)

"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

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.

See Examples For:

red card

If the player who has committed the foul gets a yellow or red card, the injured player now does not have to stay off in all circumstances.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

For Barton, the red card illustrates something he believes the public still misunderstands: VAR does not eliminate the need for the referee to interpret the rules.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The red card left Paraguay with 10 players for the entire second half, but the team went on to win the match 1-0.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The same was true during the tournament, right down to the moment Infantino took a call from Trump asking him to review an automatic one-game suspension following a red card for U.S. striker Folarin Balogun.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

“And then apply it to the card,” he finished, holding up the dripping red card for us to see.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

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