cribbage

noun

crib·​bage ˈkri-bij 

: a card game for two players in which each player tries to form various counting combinations of cards

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Cribbage is a card game, usually for two players, in which each player tries to form various counting combinations of cards. Each player receives six cards, and the score is kept by moving pegs on a narrow rectangular board. (There is also a five-card variant, as well as four-hand and three-hand variants.) Cribbage was invented by the 17th-century English poet and courtier John Suckling. The rules of play, though somewhat involved, are simple enough to make cribbage a popular pastime, particularly in Britain and the United States. The game usually ends at 121 (twice around the board plus one).

Examples of cribbage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their morning hike then segued to lunch at Sean's house, followed by a cribbage game and a long evening spent talking. —Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024

Around the same time, chaturanga (the precursor of chess) emerged in India, while the Egyptians invented senet, in which players raced each other to the end of the board, similar to cribbage. —Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024

The modern fest is a full eight days long and includes an oyster-shucking contest, an adult basketball tournament, a cribbage competition and a beauty pageant. —Corey Buhay, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024

The cribbage board keeps track of the score, as players move their pegs along the path. —Julianne Hilmes Bartlett, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2022

It is commonly said that John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, would order his valet to bring him salt beef between two pieces of toasted bread during long sessions of cribbage and other card games. —Dahlia Gallin Ramirez, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023

Other activities recommended on the website include paying for the car behind you at Mackinac Bridge, playing a game of euchre or cribbage, and kayaking, biking, fishing, etc. —Marina Johnson, Detroit Free Press, 1 Sep. 2023

Laurie Mandeville-Beaudette lost her 83-year-old father, James Mandeville, a Navy veteran, prankster, and relentlessly competitive card shark who favored rummy and cribbage. —Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Dec. 2022

But cribbage? —Tom Hanks, WSJ, 18 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

crib entry 1

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cribbage

noun

crib·​bage ˈkrib-ij 

: a card game in which each player tries to form various counting combinations of cards