✨📕 The NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Learn More!
✨📕 The NEW Collegiate Dictionary — Learn More!

play one's cards

phrase

: to act with the means available to one

Browse Nearby Words

play on
play one's cards
play one's cards right
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Play one's cards.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20one%27s%20cards. Accessed 11 Dec. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Definition revised
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'Buck Naked' or 'Butt Naked'?

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

17 Words for Dog Breeds

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
baby chick with a brown egg
Which Came First? "Jeggings" or "mom jeans"? "Chillax" or "dumpster...
See All