Phrase guide

house of cards

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈhaʊs.ʌvˌkɑɹdz/
  • General-American: [ˈhaʊs.ʌvˌkhɑɹdz]
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A structure made by stacking playing cards in a pyramidal fashion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any structure with alternating vertical and horizontal layers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: attributive, broadly, often

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A structure or argument built on a shaky foundation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

an unstable construction with playing cards

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he built three levels of his cardcastle before it collapsed

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cardhouse, card-house, cardcastle

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: structure, construction

5

noun

Meaning 5

a speculative scheme that depends on unstable factors that the planner cannot control

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his proposal was nothing but a house of cards
  • a real estate bubble

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bubble

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: scheme, strategy

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

50 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: بَيْت مِنْ وَرَق (bayt min waraq) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Belarusian: ка́ртачны до́мік (kártačny dómik) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Bulgarian: къ́ща от ка́рти (kǎ́šta ot kárti) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Catalan: castell de cartes — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Chinese Mandarin: 紙牌屋 /纸牌屋 (zhǐpái wū) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Chinese Mandarin: 撲克牌建築 /扑克牌建筑 (pūkèpái jiànzhù) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Czech: domeček z karet — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Danish: korthus — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Dutch: kaartenhuis — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Estonian: kaardimaja — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Finnish: korttitalo — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • French: château de cartes — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • German: Kartenhaus — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Greek: σπίτι από τραπουλόχαρτα (spíti apó trapoulócharta) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Hungarian: kártyavár — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Icelandic: spilaborg — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Italian: castello di carte — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Japanese: トランプタワー (toranpu tawā) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Korean: 카드의 집 (kadeu-ui jip) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Malay: binaan daun terup — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Norwegian Bokmål: korthus — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: korthus — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Iranian Persian: خانِهٔ کارْتها (xâne-ye kârt-hâ) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Polish: domek z kart — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Portuguese: castelo de cartas — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Russian: ка́рточный до́мик (kártočnyj dómik) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Slovak: domček z kariet — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Spanish: castillo de naipes — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Swedish: korthus — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Ukrainian: карткови́й буди́нок (kartkovýj budýnok) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Ukrainian: картко́вий буди́нок (kartkóvyj budýnok) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Ukrainian: карткови́й буди́ночок (kartkovýj budýnočok) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Ukrainian: картко́вий буди́ночок (kartkóvyj budýnočok) — structure made by stacking playing cards
  • Catalan: castell de cartes — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 卡家 (kǎjiā) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Danish: korthus — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Dutch: kaartenhuis — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Finnish: korttitalo — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • French: château de cartes — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • German: Kartenhaus — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Italian: castello di carte — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Korean: 사상누각 (sasangnugak) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Polish: domek z kart — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Portuguese: castelo de cartas — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Russian: ка́рточный до́мик (kártočnyj dómik) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Spanish: castillo de naipes — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Ukrainian: карткови́й буди́нок (kartkovýj budýnok) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Ukrainian: картко́вий буди́нок (kartkóvyj budýnok) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Ukrainian: карткови́й буди́ночок (kartkovýj budýnočok) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation
  • Ukrainian: картко́вий буди́ночок (kartkóvyj budýnočok) — structure or argument built on a shaky foundation