yellow card

American  

noun

yellow cards plural

1. Soccer. a yellow card shown by the referee to a player being cautioned for a violation.

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yellow card British  

noun

1. a card of a yellow colour displayed by a referee to indicate that a player has been officially cautioned for some offence

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verb

1. (tr) to caution (a player) officially for some offence

adjective

1. serving as a warning; intended to warn

   a yellow card system is in place

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• yellow cards
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yellow card

Argentina's Enzo Fernandez was dismissed during the final, receiving a second yellow card in second-half added time.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

And after a second yellow card, Fernandez became the sixth player in history—and the third from Argentina—to be sent off in the final.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Fernández had been booked minutes earlier for dissent, and the second yellow card led to his expulsion, forcing Argentina to finish shorthanded.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Fernandez was first shown a yellow card for dissent, then a second for a spectacularly late challenge that sent Cubarsi somersaulting.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

The ref holds a yellow card to a grinning Coby.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander