card catalog

American

noun

a file of cards of uniform size arranged in some definite order and listing the items in the collection of a library or group of libraries, each card typically identifying a single item.

Etymology

Origin of card catalog

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The jury threw not just the book at him, but the entire library, including the shelves and the card catalog:

From Salon • Dec. 17, 2023

"If you want to engineer a balanced immune response, you go to that card catalog, you find the particular TCR genes that, when engineered to build the cell therapy, can provide that balanced response."

From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2023

He described it as almost being like a digital card catalog, saying the company does not store photos or individual face templates but rather URLs for individual images associated with the facial features they contain.

From New York Times • May 26, 2022

Students—at least those in the mortal world—attend Baxter High, a school that time forgot where there are still chalkboards, rows of classic desks, and a library complete with card catalog.

From Slate • Nov. 21, 2018

Charles went back to the computerized card catalog.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023