trading card

American

noun

one of a set of small cards, as one depicting professional athletes, either sold separately or included as a premium with packages of bubblegum or the like, collected and traded, especially by children.

trading card British

noun

any of a set of cards printed with images or information relating to a specific subject, intended to be traded between collectors seeking to acquire a full set

"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.

“It is likely a temporary seizure for the purpose of the current fighting and it could also serve as a type of trading card for the future in the negotiations with the Lebanese,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

Those payouts can range from a few hundred dollars for social-media posts promoting a local restaurant to five-figure trading card deals for big name players.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

An animated TV series, movies, a trading card game and the mega-hit mobile game Pokémon Go! have all helped to win fans across the globe.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

One website, Collectr, offers trading card portfolio management and valuation tools for users looking to track their assets.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Nico tossed another trading card into the blue flames.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

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