Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1952 in the modern sense; the phrase was used late 19c. to mean "traveler's check."
Wiktionary
n. A plastic card, usually with a magnetic strip or an embedded microchip, connected to a credit account and used to buy goods or services.
WordNet
n. a card (usually plastic) that assures a seller that the person using it has a satisfactory credit rating and that the issuer will see to it that the seller receives payment for the merchandise delivered [syn: charge card, charge plate]
Wikipedia
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) as a method of payment. It allows the cardholder to pay for goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for them. The issuer of the card (usually a bank) creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder, from which the cardholder can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance.
A credit card is different from a charge card, where it requires the balance to be repaid in full each month. In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers a continuing balance of debt, subject to interest being charged. A credit card also differs from a cash card, which can be used like currency by the owner of the card. A credit card differs from a charge card also in that a credit card typically involves a third-party entity that pays the seller and is reimbursed by the buyer, whereas a charge card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date.
Usage examples of "credit card".
credit cards in your pocket isn't much good on the farm, and anyway nobody'd be fooled, they know me and Mort and they know we never could get a credit card.
A fast look at the phone records of the owner and credit card receipts led to the conclusion that the man’.
Once inside he double-locked the door and spent several tedious hours under a bright lamp altering his credit card again.
He put his Uni-Credit Card in the slot, his thumbprint on the screen and ordered the toy.
She would have been required to leave a credit card number when she checked in.
He had also removed her name from all his credit card accounts, which wasn't a hardship on her because she had her own credit cards, but damn if she hadn't gone ballistic when she found out.
I had a plan that never, never, never in the future would any credit card ever be used!
The moment we make that broadcast, Roy will begin to use the million pseudo-dollars a day available to him on his Swiss International Credit Card.