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eldest

noun · adjective

Form of eld , superlative of eld.

Simple meaning

Receiving cards from the dealer first, before any other players.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ehlduhst

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɛldəst

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The eldest child in a family, or individual in a group.

adjective

  1. card games

    (of a player) Receiving cards from the dealer first, before any other players.

  2. card games

    (of a hand) Having higher, or superior cards.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Eldest

eldest child

Offspring

eldest soneldest daughter

Other combinations

eldest brothereldest sistertwo eldesteldest boyeldest male

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • eldest handnounCompound term

    The card player on the dealer's left.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: eldest child in a family

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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.