solitaire

[ sol-i-tair ]
See synonyms for solitaire on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called patience. any of various games played by one person with one or more regular 52-card packs, part or all of which are usually dealt out according to a given pattern, the object being to arrange the cards in a predetermined manner.

  2. a game played by one person alone, as a game played with marbles or pegs on a board having hollows or holes.

  1. a precious stone, especially a diamond, set by itself, as in a ring.

  2. any of several American thrushes of the genus Myadestes, having short, broad bills and noted for their beautiful songs.

  3. a large extinct flightless bird of the genus Pezophaps, related to the dodo but with a longer neck, smaller bill, and longer legs, that inhabited the Mascarene Islands.

Origin of solitaire

1
1350–1400; Middle English <French <Latin sōlitāriussolitary

Words Nearby solitaire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use solitaire in a sentence

  • It was a large sparkling diamond solitaire on a platinum band set with tiny diamonds.

  • Suddenly she drew off the engagement ring Mr. Pomello had given her, a magnificent solitaire.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • A wretched sleep en train, more solitaire, meals at schedule times, and then we hit New York.

    My Wonderful Visit | Charlie Chaplin
  • Finally decided to go back and have a look for himself, but I told him you probably had a hot game of solitaire going.

    Tight Squeeze | Dean Charles Ing
  • A tiny ray of blue light shot from the solitaire on the third finger of her left hand.

    The White Shield | Myrtle Reed
  • His voice trembled with the agony of love and pain, as she drew the solitaire out of the chatelaine bag at her belt.

    The White Shield | Myrtle Reed

British Dictionary definitions for solitaire

solitaire

/ (ˈsɒlɪˌtɛə, ˌsɒlɪˈtɛə) /


noun
  1. Also called: pegboard a game played by one person, esp one involving moving and taking pegs in a pegboard or marbles on an indented circular board with the object of being left with only one

  2. the US name for patience (def. 3)

  1. a gem, esp a diamond, set alone in a ring

  2. any of several extinct birds of the genus Pezophaps, related to the dodo

  3. any of several dull grey North American songbirds of the genus Myadestes: subfamily Turdinae (thrushes)

Origin of solitaire

1
C18: from Old French: solitary

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