Meaning & use
royal flush
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Meanings
nouncountable
In poker, the best possible hand: the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of the same suit.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a royal flush' or 'two royal flushes'.
Patterns
- get a royal flush
- be dealt a royal flush
- make a royal flush
He was dealt a royal flush in spades and won the whole pot.
She has never seen a royal flush in a real game, only in movies.
A royal flush beats every other hand in standard poker.
nounsingularfigurative
A very rare and impressive combination of events or qualities, especially in business or sports.
Grammar: Figurative use; usually singular and often with 'a'.
Patterns
- a royal flush of something
- hit a royal flush
The startup had a royal flush of talent, funding, and perfect timing.
Winning all four major tournaments in one year was a royal flush for the team.
Word forms
| plural | royal flushes |
|---|
Common combinations
- be dealt a royal flush
- In the first hand, he was dealt a royal flush.
- hit a royal flush
- She hit a royal flush on the river and celebrated loudly.
- a royal flush in hearts
- He showed a royal flush in hearts to the amazed table.
- the odds of a royal flush
- The odds of a royal flush are about 1 in 650,000.
Synonyms and how they differ
- straight flush
- A straight flush is any five consecutive cards of the same suit; a royal flush is the highest kind of straight flush.
Word family
Commonly confused: royal flush or full house?
royal flush vs full house
A full house is three cards of one rank plus two of another; a royal flush is much rarer and stronger.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'royal flush' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A royal flush must be the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of one suit. Option 1 has the right cards and suit. Option 2 is a straight flush but not royal. Option 3 has mixed suits. Option 4 is four of a kind, not a flush.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “royal flush”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.