Definition

Noun: A small card bearing a person's name and professional details, left with someone or at a place to indicate that the person has visited. It is a formal, traditional form of introduction and contact information.

Usage

A visiting card is used in formal social or professional contexts to announce one's visit when the person being visited is not present. It serves as a tangible record of the visit and provides contact details.

Examples

• She left her visiting card with the receptionist after her meeting was cancelled.
• In the 19th century, it was customary to leave a visiting card after paying a social call.
• His elegant visiting card featured his name and the address of his law practice.

Advanced Usage

• To leave one's card: This phrase means to leave a visiting card as a formal gesture.
  • The diplomat left his card at the embassy to formally announce his arrival in the city.

Variants and Related Words

• Calling card: This is a direct synonym for "visiting card" and is commonly used, especially in American English.
• Business card: A closely related modern item. While a visiting card is primarily a social instrument to announce a visit, a business card is exchanged to facilitate future business contact. In contemporary usage, the terms are often used interchangeably, though "business card" is far more common.

Synonyms

• Calling card
• (Modern context) Business card

Related Idioms

• A calling card: Used figuratively to mean a distinctive mark or characteristic left behind by someone.
  • The elaborate staging was the director's calling card. (Note: This idiomatic use almost exclusively employs "calling card," not "visiting card.")

Noun

1. a printed or written greeting that is left to indicate that you have visited