Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A card game played usually with the highest 32 cards, in which each player is dealt 5 cards and the player making the trump is required to take at least 3 tricks to win.
  • noun The act of euchring an opponent.
  • transitive verb To prevent (an opponent) from taking 3 tricks in euchre.
  • transitive verb To deceive by sly or underhand means; cheat.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A game of cards played by two, three, or four persons with the 32, 28, or 24 highest cards of the pack.
  • noun The winning of at least three tricks in a hand, in a game of euchre, from the side which makes the trump: as, that is a euchre.
  • In the game of euchre, to win a hand over, when an opponent has ordered up, taken up, or named the trump, thus securing two points; hence, to turn the tables on; defeat; get the better of. See the noun.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A game at cards, that may be played by two, three, or four persons, the highest card (except when an extra card called the Joker is used) being the knave of the same suit as the trump, and called right bower, the lowest card used being the seven, or frequently, in two-handed euchre, the nine spot. See bower.
  • transitive verb To defeat, in a game of euchre, the side that named the trump.
  • transitive verb Slang. To defeat or foil thoroughly in any scheme.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun card games A game played with a reduced deck of 24 cards.
  • verb To deceive.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a card game similar to ecarte; each player is dealt 5 cards and the player making trump must take 3 tricks to win a hand

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

  • Adams said the Samboree gathering includes games and festivities throughout the week such as euchre, bingo, craft classes, tours of the Coshocton area, seminars and entertainment.

    coshoctontribune.com - Local News 2009

  • We called for a deck of cards and sat down at a table and played euchre for an hour, in which time Louis treated once, and I treated once, to beer -- the cheapest drink, ten cents for two.

    Chapter 19 2010

  • In the afternoon I'd watch the Packers win, grill filet mignon from Nick's of Calvert, movie night with the kids and a game of euchre with my wife and some friends.

    Thursday feature: A turn to lighter fare 2011

  • So Louis and I rendezvoused in a livery stable, and with coats buttoned and chattering teeth played euchre and casino until the time of our exile was over.

    Chapter 19 2010

  • I only buy a liscence to help the local economy, sit out and watch for something, sometimes I even load my rifle before I go out, and play alot of euchre and have some great fellowship.

    Some Incidental Information 2008

  • He was a fixture at town council and county commission meetings but rarely if ever showed up for more social events like hockey games or euchre tournaments or even the annual Kiwanis Christmas brunch.

    The Hanging Tree Bryan Gruley 2010

  • Marsh was a splendid sort, a capital pilot and skipper and tough as they came, I guessed, but with a fund of yarns and partial to a convivial glass or a hand at euchre.

    Isabelle Estelle Bruno 2010

  • Apparently, the abundance of retirees in the Sunshine state include a frisky few not content to play euchre and shuffleboard for the rest of their lives.

    Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide 2009

  • He taught me euchre, and after dividing London between us, I taking the northern side and he the southern, we played for parish points.

    The War of The Worlds H. G. Wells 2009

  • Her knitting, our euchre playing, and her crosswords.

    Tuesday Toppers: Tribute to Grandma Helen julie 2009

Comments

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  • as in cheat or trick

    February 26, 2007

  • It would be interesting to see what connection this has to the card game of the same name.

    February 26, 2007

  • Citation on febrifuge.

    July 30, 2008

  • OED: trans. At euchre: To gain the advantage over (an adversary) by his failure to take three tricks: see the n. Hence transf. to outwit, ‘do’, ‘best’. Also, to euchre (a person) out of (a thing).

    May 29, 2009