calling card

noun

1
: visiting card
2
: a sign or evidence that someone or something is or has been present
broadly : an identifying mark
3
: a card displaying a number that can be used to charge telephone calls to a single account regardless of where the calls are placed

Examples of calling card in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Being ready to play has been one of Moton’s calling cards in the NFL. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026 Avoiding turnover-worthy plays has been a Burrow calling card throughout his best seasons, but his turnover-worthy play rate is the highest since his rookie year. — Zak Keefer, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 That story began in the 1980s, when Film Fest Ghent adopted screen music as its calling card, a focus that led to the World Soundtrack Academy and Awards at the turn of the millennium. — Ben Croll, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026 Each piece of cotton used in his designs is dyed individually, by hand, to produce the mottled pattern that has become his calling card. — Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for calling card

Word History

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of calling card was in 1808

Rhymes for calling card

See All Rhymes for calling card

Browse Nearby Words

calling
calling card
calling crab
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Calling card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calling%20card. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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