calling card

[ kaw-ling kahrd ]

noun

1. Also called card, visiting card. a small card with the name and often the address of a person or of a couple, for presenting when making a business or social call, for enclosing in gifts, etc.
2. Informal. any mark, sign, trace, characteristic, or the like by which someone or something can be recognized.
3. Also called phone card. a prepaid card or charge card that can be used to make a telephone call at home or away from home.

calling card

noun

1. a small card bearing the name and usually the address of a person, esp for giving to business or social acquaintances Also calledvisiting card

Word History and Origins

Origin of calling card¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

They found fossil dung containing intact beetles—believed to be the calling card of the insect-eating Silesaurus, a close relative of dinosaurs.

From Science Magazine

"It was a calling card; the moment at which he was fully able to indulge his macabre, goth-boy, grand guignol vision."

From BBC

As Lindsay Beyerstein explained for Salon, "the banner is the calling card of a Christian supremacist movement seeking to impose theocracy on America."

From Salon

Music remains Tyler’s most identifiable calling card, but his forays into fashion have arguably been more impressive.

From Los Angeles Times

I tell them to get on YouTube and Instagram, make videos, make shorts, make an IG Reel and use that as a calling card.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• business card