Meaning & use
ATM card
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A plastic bank card used to take out cash and do other banking at cash machines.
Grammar: Countable: say an ATM card or two ATM cards; the abbreviation ATM is read letter by letter.
Patterns
- use an ATM card
- an ATM card for something
- pay with an ATM card
I left my ATM card in the machine again.
She used her ATM card to take out fifty dollars.
You can check your balance with your ATM card at any branch machine.
nouncountableAmerican
A card that lets you pay for things directly from your bank account, especially in the US.
Grammar: In American English this use overlaps with debit card; in British English people usually say debit card.
Patterns
- pay by ATM card
- accept ATM cards
The store takes ATM cards but not credit cards.
He paid by ATM card so the money came straight out of his account.
Word forms
| plural | ATM cards |
|---|
Common combinations
- use an ATM card
- Older customers still prefer to use an ATM card rather than a phone app.
- insert an ATM card
- Insert your ATM card and enter your four-digit code.
- ATM card number
- Never give your ATM card number to anyone who calls you.
- lose your ATM card
- If you lose your ATM card, call the bank at once.
- ATM card fee
- Some machines charge a small ATM card fee.
Synonyms and how they differ
- debit card
- The usual British term for a card that pays directly from your account; ATM card is more common in the US.
- cash card
- An older, narrower term for a card used mainly to withdraw cash, not to pay in shops.
- bank card
- A wider term covering any card from a bank, including credit cards.
Word family
- ATM abbreviation
- Automated teller machine, the machine that gives out cash.
Commonly confused: ATM card or credit card?
ATM card vs credit card
A credit card lets you borrow money and pay later; an ATM card takes money straight from your bank account.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'ATM card' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An ATM card is a plastic card you put into a cash machine, so 'inserted her ATM card and took out forty dollars' fits. Option 0 describes borrowing and paying later, which is a credit card. Option 2 confuses the card with a letter, and option 3 describes mail, not a card.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ATM card”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.