on the cards Definition

card¹
noun

1. A kind of thick, stiff paper or thin cardboard.
2. A rectangular piece of card bearing a design, usually one of a set, used eg for playing games, fortune-telling, etc.

Form: playing card (also)
3. A small rectangular piece of card or plastic, showing eg one's identity, job, membership of an organization, etc.
4. A small rectangular piece of stiff plastic issued by a bank, etc to a customer, used eg instead of cash or a cheque when making payments, as a guarantee for a cheque, for operating a cash machine, etc. See also credit card, debit card.
5. computing.
A piece of card on which information is stored in the form of punched holes or magnetic codes.
6. A piece of card, usually folded double and bearing a design and message, sent to someone on a special occasion.

Example: Christmas card
7. A postcard.
8. old use, colloq
An amusing person.
9. horse-racing.
A racecard.
10. Games played with playing cards.

Form: cards
11. An employee's personal documents held by their employer.

Form: cards

verb carded, carding

1. To enter in card index.
2. sport, especially football.
To be shown a yellow card or red card by the referee, resulting in either a booking or dismissal from the field.
Form: be carded

Idiom: the cards are stacked against someone or something

colloq
Circumstances do not favour them.

Idiom: get one's cards

colloq
To be dismissed from one's job.

Idiom: have a card up one's sleeve

In an argument or contest: to have something prepared, which can be used to one's advantage, but which has not yet been revealed to one's opponents.

Idiom: hold all the cards

colloq
To have the stronger or strongest position of opposing parties; to have all the advantages.

Idiom: lay one's cards on the table (put one's cards on the table)

colloq
To announce one's intentions, reveal one's thoughts, etc openly.

Idiom: on the cards

colloq
Likely to happen.

Idiom: play one's best (play one's strongest card, play one's trump card)

colloq
To make use of one's strongest advantage.

Idiom: play one's cards close to one's chest

To be secretive about one's intentions.

Idiom: play one's cards right

colloq
To make good use of one's opportunities and advantages.

Etymology: 15c: from French carte, from Latin charta, from Greek chartes papyrus leaf.