Word.ws English Dictionary

having the cards in one's hands

having the cards in one's hands is the present participle and gerund of have the cards in one's hands.

Meaning of have the cards in one's hands

Verb

have the cards in one's hands (third-person singular simple present has the cards in one's hands, present participle having the cards in one's hands, simple past and past participle had the cards in one's hands)

  1. To have the initiative for, or the means of, success; to be in a position to control the outcome.
    • Gogs bloud Iacke, haue we the cards in our hands?
      Lets take it vpon vs while we haue it.1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I
    Synonyms:
    have the cards

Questions about having the cards in one's hands

What is having the cards in one's hands the present participle and gerund of?
Having the cards in one's hands is the present participle and gerund of have the cards in one's hands.

Words near having the cards in one's hands in the dictionary

  1. having the ball in one's court
  2. having the best of it
  3. having the biscuit
  4. having the blues
  5. having the cards
  6. having the cards in one's hands
  7. having the dirts with
  8. having the drains up
  9. having the drop on
  10. having the first idea
  11. having the floor

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: having the cards in one's hands (page history and authors); have the cards in one's hands (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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