Gift Card Meaning and Usage

Meaning 1：gift card (Gift Card)

Gift Card 🔊

/ɡɪft kɑːrd/

A prepaid card you give as a present, good for spending at a specific shop or website.

gift card 🔊

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/ɡɪft kɑːrd/

A prepaid card given as a present, usable at a specific store or website.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Gift from Old English 'gift' (payment for a wife), card from Latin 'charta' (paper).

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine a card that is a gift – you give it to someone to buy what they want.

📖 Example

She was thrilled to receive a bookstore gift card for her birthday, so she could pick her own novel. 🔊 She was thrilled to receive a bookstore gift card for her birthday, so she could pick her own novel.

🔗 Collocations

redeem a gift card – use the value of a gift card to make a purchase

gift card balance – the remaining amount of money on a gift card

buy a gift card – purchase a prepaid card as a gift

🔄 Synonyms

prepaid card (n.) – A card that has been loaded with a specific amount of money in advance for future purchases.

gift voucher (n.) – A voucher that can be exchanged for goods or services, typically as a gift.

📖 Cultural Story

Gift cards emerged in the 1990s as a convenient alternative to physical gifts, quickly becoming a staple in retail culture for their flexibility.