calling card
noun
Simple meaning
A small printed card which identifies the bearer.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kawlihngkahrdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɔlɪŋˈkɑɹd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A distinguishing characteristic or behavior
figurative
An attribute, symptom, object, or behavior which is distinctly characteristic of someone or something.
A small printed card which identifies the bearer, traditionally presented for introduction when making a social visit to a home or when attending a formal social event or business meeting.
A card advertising the services of a prostitute.
A phonecard.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small printed card which identifies the bearer, traditionally presented for introduction when making a social visit to a home or when attending a formal social event or business meeting.
Used this way, calling card is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It turns up most in business or professional contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Business/professional
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.