Cart vs. Card — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on November 3, 2023
A cart is a wheeled vehicle for moving goods, while a card is a flat, typically rectangular piece of plastic or thick paper.
Difference Between Cart and Card
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A cart is often a two or four-wheeled vehicle designed for transport, used in various settings from shopping to construction. Cards, by contrast, come in many forms, from playing cards for games to credit cards for financial transactions. Both serve as tools for everyday tasks, though in entirely different ways.
Carts facilitate the movement of items, reducing physical strain, and are ubiquitous in retail for customer use. Cards, meanwhile, serve as symbols of information or value, fitting into wallets and used in digital transactions, identification, or leisure activities. While carts are physical labor aids, cards are informational or transactional instruments.
The structure of a cart is utilitarian, typically made from materials like metal, plastic, or wood, and designed to be pushed or pulled. Cards are usually made from paper or plastic, with an emphasis on their graphic design and the data they hold, whether it's a magnetic strip on a debit card or the intricate face of a king on a playing card.
Carts come in many forms, from simple hand-drawn versions to elaborate electronic ones found in airports. Cards too vary widely, from simple business cards that convey contact information to smart cards embedded with chips that store data. Both vary in sophistication, but their core purposes remain distinct – physical hauling vs. information exchange.
In terms of linguistic usage, "cart" can be a verb, meaning to carry or transport in a cart. "Card," on the other hand, rarely functions as a verb but is frequently compounded into terms like 'cardholder' or 'cardboard,' indicating its versatile usage in the English language.
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Comparison Chart
Primary Use
Transportation of goods
Representation of information or value
Physical Form
Wheeled vehicle
Flat piece of paper or plastic
Material
Often metal, wood, or plastic
Usually paper, cardboard, or plastic
Types
Shopping carts, hand carts, etc.
Credit cards, business cards, playing cards
Functionality
Facilitates movement
Facilitates transactions or identification
Compare with Definitions
Cart
A cart is a wheeled vehicle used for carrying goods
He loaded the boxes onto the cart.
Card
A card can be a small rectangular piece of plastic for transactions
He paid with his credit card.
Cart
Online shopping utilizes a virtual cart
She added the dress to her online shopping cart.
Card
In games, a card refers to a piece of stiff paper used to play
She drew a card from the deck.
Cart
In golf, a cart is a small motorized vehicle for players
They rented a cart to navigate the golf course.
Card
A card is also an electronic device like a SIM card
He inserted the SIM card into his phone.
Cart
A cart or dray (Aus. & NZ) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals.
Card
As an invitation, a card signifies a request to attend
They received a wedding card from their friends.
Cart
A small wheeled vehicle typically pushed by hand
A shopping cart.
A pastry cart.
Card
A piece of thick, stiff paper or thin pasteboard, in particular one used for writing or printing on
A piece of card
Some notes jotted down on a card
Cart
A two-wheeled vehicle drawn by an animal and used in farm work and for transporting goods.
Card
A small rectangular piece of plastic containing personal data in a machine-readable form and used to obtain cash or credit or to pay for a telephone call, gain entry to a room or building, etc.
She paid for the goods with her card
Your card cannot be used to withdraw more than your daily limit from cash machines
Cart
The quantity that a cart can hold.
Card
A playing card
A pack of cards
Cart
An open two-wheeled carriage.
Card
Short for expansion card
Cart
A light motorized vehicle
A golf cart.
Card
Documents relating to an employee, especially for tax and national insurance, held by the employer.
Cart
To convey in a cart or truck
Cart away garbage.
Card
A programme of events at a race meeting
A nine-race card
Cart
To convey laboriously or unceremoniously; lug
Carted the whole gang off to jail.
Card
A person regarded as odd or amusing
He laughed: ‘You're a card, you know’
Cart
A small, open, wheeled vehicle, drawn or pushed by a person or animal, more often used for transporting goods than passengers.
The grocer delivered his goods by cart.
Card
A toothed implement or machine for carding wool.
Cart
A small motor vehicle resembling a car; a go-cart.
Card
Write (something) on a card, especially for indexing.
Cart
(Internet) A shopping cart.
Card
Check the identity card of (someone), in particular as evidence of legal drinking age
We were carded at the entrance to the club
Cart
A tape cartridge used for pre-recorded material such as jingles and advertisements.
Card
(of an amateur athlete) be in receipt of government funding to pursue training
In 1986–7 all carded athletes received a basic $450 monthly allowance
Cart
A cartridge for a video game system.
My Final Fantasy cart on the NES is still alive and kicking.
Card
Comb and clean (raw wool, hemp fibres, or similar material) with a sharp-toothed instrument in order to disentangle the fibres before spinning
The wool from the sheep was carded and spun
Cart
(transitive) To carry or convey in a cart.
Card
One of a set or pack bearing significant numbers, symbols, or figures, used in games and in divination.
Cart
To carry goods.
I've been carting these things around all day.
Card
A greeting card.
Cart
(transitive) To remove, especially involuntarily or for disposal.
Card
A postcard.
Cart
To expose in a cart by way of punishment.
Card
One bearing a person's name and other information, used for purposes of identification or classification.
Cart
A common name for various kinds of vehicles, as a Scythian dwelling on wheels, or a chariot.
Card
One bearing the image and often the statistics of a sports figure.
Cart
A two-wheeled vehicle for the ordinary purposes of husbandry, or for transporting bulky and heavy articles.
Packing all his goods in one poor cart.
Card
A business card.
Cart
A light business wagon used by bakers, grocerymen, butchers, etc.
Card
A credit card.
Cart
An open two-wheeled pleasure carriage.
Card
A magnetic card.
Cart
To carry or convey in a cart.
Card
One used for recording information in a file
An index card.
A recipe card.
Cart
To expose in a cart by way of punishment.
She chuckled when a bawd was carted.
Card
A game played with cards.
Cart
To carry burdens in a cart; to follow the business of a carter.
Card
The playing of games with cards.
Cart
A heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal
Card
A program, especially for a sports event.
Cart
Wheeled vehicle that can be pushed by a person; may have one or two or four wheels;
He used a handcart to carry the rocks away
Their pushcart was piled high with groceries
Card
A menu, as in a restaurant.
Cart
Draw slowly or heavily;
Haul stones
Haul nets
Card
A wine list.
Cart
Transport something in a cart
Card
A printed circuit board that plugs into a slot on a computer's motherboard or into a port on the outside of a device, and performs a particular function, such as data storage or converting and processing signals for communication with other devices.
Cart
Cart can be a verb meaning to transport heavy goods
They carted the soil to the garden.
Card
A punch card.
Cart
A food cart is a mobile kitchen that sells food
The hot dog cart was a popular spot at lunch.
Card
A compass card.
Card
(Informal) An eccentrically amusing person.
Card
Something, such as an advantageous circumstance or tactical maneuver, that can be used to help gain an objective. Often used with play
"[He believed that] Soviet Russia ... had far more Iranian cards to play than the United States" (Theodore Draper).
Card
An appeal to a specified issue or argument, usually one involving strong emotions. Often used with play
"His exposure as a racist ... allowed the defense to play the race card" (New York Times).
Card
A wire-toothed brush or a machine fitted with rows of wire teeth, used to straighten and separate fibers, as of wool, prior to spinning.
Card
A device used to raise the nap on a fabric.
Card
To furnish with or attach to a card.
Card
To list (something) on a card; catalog.
Card
To check the identification of, especially in order to verify legal age.
Card
(Sports) To warn or eject (a soccer player who has committed a flagrant foul) by showing a yellow card or a red card.
Card
To comb out or brush with a card.
Card
A playing card.
Card
(in the plural) Any game using playing cards; a card game.
He played cards with his friends.
Card
A resource or argument, used to achieve a purpose.
The government played the Orange card to get support for their Ireland policy.
He accused them of playing the race card.
Card
Any flat, normally rectangular piece of stiff paper, plastic, etc.
Card
(obsolete) A map or chart.
Card
(informal) An amusing or entertaining person, often slightly eccentric.
Card
A list of scheduled events or of performers or contestants; chiefly used in professional wrestling.
What's on the card for tonight?
Card
(cricket) A tabular presentation of the key statistics of an innings or match: batsmen’s scores and how they were dismissed, extras, total score and bowling figures.
Card
(computing) A removable electronic device that may be inserted into a powered electronic device to provide additional capability.
He needed to replace the card his computer used to connect to the internet.
Card
A greeting card.
She gave her neighbors a card congratulating them on their new baby.
Card
A business card.
The realtor gave me her card so I could call if I had any questions about buying a house.
Card
(television) A title card or intertitle: a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action at various points, generally to convey character dialogue or descriptive narrative material related to the plot.
Card
A test card.
Card
(dated) A published note, containing a brief statement, explanation, request, expression of thanks, etc.
To put a card in the newspapers
Card
(dated) A printed programme.
Card
An attraction or inducement.
This will be a good card for the last day of the fair.
Card
A paper on which the points of the compass are marked; the dial or face of the mariner's compass.
Card
(weaving) A perforated pasteboard or sheet-metal plate for warp threads, making part of the Jacquard apparatus of a loom.
Card
An indicator card.
Card
Material with embedded short wire bristles.
Card
A comb- or brush-like device or tool to raise the nap on a fabric.
Card
(textiles) A hand-held tool formed similarly to a hairbrush but with bristles of wire or other rigid material. It is used principally with raw cotton, wool, hair, or other natural fibers to prepare these materials for spinning into yarn or thread on a spinning wheel, with a whorl or other hand-held spindle. The card serves to untangle, clean, remove debris from, and lay the fibers straight.
Card
A machine for disentangling the fibres of wool prior to spinning.
Card
A roll or sliver of fibre (as of wool) delivered from a carding machine.
Card
Obsolete form of chard
Card
(US) To check IDs, especially against a minimum age requirement.
They have to card anybody who looks 21 or younger.
I heard you don't get carded at the other liquor store.
Card
(dated) To play cards.
Card
(golf) To make (a stated score), as recorded on a scoring card.
McIlroy carded a stellar nine-under-par 61 in the final round.
Card
(textiles) To use a carding device to disentangle the fibres of wool prior to spinning.
Card
To scrape or tear someone’s flesh using a metal comb, as a form of torture.
Card
(transitive) To comb with a card; to cleanse or disentangle by carding.
To card a horse
Card
To clean or clear, as if by using a card.
Card
To mix or mingle, as with an inferior or weaker article.
Card
A piece of pasteboard, or thick paper, blank or prepared for various uses; as, a playing card; a visiting card; a card of invitation; pl. a game played with cards.
Our first cards were to Carabas House.
Card
A published note, containing a brief statement, explanation, request, expression of thanks, or the like; as, to put a card in the newspapers. Also, a printed programme, and (fig.), an attraction or inducement; as, this will be a good card for the last day of the fair.
Card
A paper on which the points of the compass are marked; the dial or face of the mariner's compass.
All the quartere that they knowI' the shipman's card.
Card
A perforated pasteboard or sheet-metal plate for warp threads, making part of the Jacquard apparatus of a loom. See Jacquard.
Card
An indicator card. See under Indicator.
Card
An instrument for disentangling and arranging the fibers of cotton, wool, flax, etc.; or for cleaning and smoothing the hair of animals; - usually consisting of bent wire teeth set closely in rows in a thick piece of leather fastened to a back.
Card
A roll or sliver of fiber (as of wool) delivered from a carding machine.
Card
To play at cards; to game.
Card
To comb with a card; to cleanse or disentangle by carding; as, to card wool; to card a horse.
These card the short comb the longer flakes.
Card
To clean or clear, as if by using a card.
This book [must] be carded and purged.
Card
To mix or mingle, as with an inferior or weaker article.
You card your beer, if you guests being to be drunk. - half small, half strong.
Card
One of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes;
He collected cards and traded them with the other boys
Card
A card certifying the identity of the bearer;
He had to show his card to get in
Card
A rectangular piece of stiff paper used to send messages (may have printed greetings or pictures);
They sent us a card from Miami
Card
Thin cardboard, usually rectangular
Card
A witty amusing person who makes jokes
Card
A sign posted in a public place as an advertisement;
A poster advertised the coming attractions
Card
A printed or written greeting that is left to indicate that you have visited
Card
(golf) a record of scores (as in golf);
You have to turn in your card to get a handicap
Card
A list of dishes available at a restaurant;
The menu was in French
Card
(baseball) a list of batters in the order in which they will bat;
The managers presented their cards to the umpire at home plate
Card
A printed circuit that can be inserted into expansion slots in a computer to increase the computer's capabilities
Card
Separate the fibers of;
Tease wool
Card
Ask someone for identification to determine whether he or she is old enough to consume liquor;
I was carded when I tried to buy a beer!
Card
For identification, a card displays personal details
Her driver's license card was issued last year.
Common Curiosities
Do carts come in standard sizes?
No, carts can vary greatly in size, from small hand carts to large industrial-sized carts.
Are cards environmentally friendly?
It depends on the material and production process, but many companies are moving towards more sustainable practices for card production.
Can a cart be used for personal transportation?
Generally, carts are not designed for carrying people, but some, like golf carts, are made for personal transportation on specific terrain.
Are cards secure for carrying information?
Many cards, especially those used for financial transactions, have security features to protect information, but no card is completely immune to theft or loss.
Can the word "cart" be used as a verb?
Yes, "to cart" means to transport something in a cart.
Are carts still used in modern industry?
Yes, carts are widely used in various industries for transport of goods, especially in warehousing and retail.
Can both "cart" and "card" be nouns?
Yes, both are commonly used as nouns in various contexts.
Is a business card still relevant?
Yes, business cards are still a widely used networking tool in many professional settings.
Are all carts wheeled?
Most carts have wheels, but there are some variants like sleds that are considered wheel-less carts for specific purposes like snow movement.
Do all cards have a magnetic strip?
Not all cards have a magnetic strip; some use a chip, barcode, or QR code, while others have no electronic features at all.
What is the main purpose of a card?
Cards serve many purposes, from facilitating transactions as in credit cards to providing identification or entertainment as in playing cards.
How has technology affected the use of carts?
Technology has led to the development of automated and motorized carts, improving efficiency in transportation and handling of goods.
Can the term "card" refer to electronic components?
Yes, "card" can refer to electronic components like graphics cards in computers or SIM cards in mobile phones.
Is a card always physical?
No, with digital advancements, many cards exist in a virtual format, such as digital membership cards or tickets.
What's the difference between a cardholder and a cart operator?
A cardholder is someone who owns or uses a card, while a cart operator is someone who maneuvers or is responsible for a cart.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
