whist

/wɪst/

/hwɪst/

/wɪst/

Other forms: whists

Whist is a card game for four players that's similar to bridge and hearts. If you enjoy crazy eights, you'll probably also like playing whist.

Whist is a fairly simple game in which two pairs of partners team up to try and take as many tricks (sequences of cards played in one turn) as possible. To win a whist trick, you must play the highest card in a particular suit. Whist has many variations, one of which led to the invention of bridge. Whist may come from whisk, in the sense of whisking the cards away, or its obsolete meaning, "silence."

Definitions of whist

1. noun

   a card game for four players who form two partnerships; a pack of 52 cards is dealt and each side scores one point for each trick it takes in excess of six
   synonyms: long whist, short whist

   types:

   dummy whist

   a form of whist with three players; four hands are dealt with the hand opposite the dealer being face up

   Black Maria, hearts

   a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades

   type of:

   card game, cards

   a game played with playing cards