house of cards

noun phrase

: a structure, situation, or institution that is insubstantial, shaky, or in constant danger of collapse

Examples of house of cards in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Don’t build yourself a house of cards that could be avoided by simply putting someone else in charge for a few days. Jodie Cook, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025 Some commentators have suggested Putin’s overheated war economy is a house of cards, meaning time is not actually on the Russian leader’s side. Joshua Keating, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 The house of cards that Vladimir Putin has so carefully stacked over more than two decades is folding before our eyes. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 10 Dec. 2024 In April, Ortega's fiction of a prosperous and politically stable Nicaragua collapsed like a house of cards. Gioconda Belli, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2018 See all Example Sentences for house of cards 

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of house of cards was in 1645

Dictionary Entries Near house of cards

Cite this Entry

“House of cards.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/house%20of%20cards. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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