monte

¹ American  

[mon-tee] / ˈmɒn ti /

noun

Cards.

1. Also called monte bank.  a gambling game played with a 40-card pack in which players bet that one of two layouts, each consisting of two cards drawn from either the top or bottom of the deck and turned face up, will be matched in suit by the next card turned up.

2. three-card monte.

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Monte ² American  

[mon-tee] / ˈmɒn ti /

noun

1. a male given name.

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monte British  

/ ˈmɒntɪ /

noun

1. a gambling card game of Spanish origin

2. informal a certainty

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Etymology

Origin of monte

1815–25; < Spanish: mountain, hence, heap (of cards); mount ²

Example Sentences

Yet racing, at times, plays its fatality numbers as if it were a game of three-card monte.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2024

If you see anyone playing three-card monte or a shell game, just keep walking.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023

Activists at the time raised the alarm as they treated burns on animals displaced by the fires, including monitos del monte, - small nocturnal marsupials - and pudus, the world's smallest deer.

From Reuters • Jul. 13, 2023

"The old three card monte guys had to wait for people to walk around. Now you can reach out and find the three card monte enthusiast, and get them to come to you."

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2023

On any given late afternoon or evening, up to a dozen serious men might be seated around this table intently playing cards—poker, blackjack, monte, hearts, even bridge occasionally, you name it.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols