SIM card

/ˈsɪm ˌkɑː(ɹ)d/

noun

A small, removable card smaller than a credit card which stores mobile phone data such as contact names and numbers, SMSs and security information.

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Meanings

nounSIM card (plural SIM cards)

plural SIM cards

  1. A small, removable card smaller than a credit card which stores mobile phone data such as contact names and numbers, SMSs and security information.
    1 more example

    Despite the ongoing health crisis, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered phone operators in the country to block SIM cards not linked to a national identity number (NIN), used to bundle together biometric records such as fingerprints and headshots. […] Even when people manage to get a NIN, they must then integrate it with their SIM card by texting their service provider a code, a process that users say is sometimes glitchy.

    2021 February 10, Eoin McSweeney, “As Covid-19 cases rise in Nigeria, a government policy is creating crowds and chaos”, in CNN

Origin

From SIM (i.e. Subscriber Identity Module) + card.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بِطَاقَة SIM, شَرِيحَة
  • بِطَاقَة SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • شَرِيحَة (šarīḥa)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Basque SIM txartel
  • SIM txartelsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Bulgarian SIM карта
  • SIM карта (SIM karta)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Catalan SIM
  • SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Chinese Cantonese SIM卡, 電話卡 /电话卡
  • SIM卡 (sim¹ kaat¹)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • 電話卡 /电话卡small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Chinese Mandarin SIM卡, 手機卡 /手机卡
  • SIM卡 (SIM kǎ)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • 手機卡 /手机卡 (shǒujīkǎ)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • 电话卡 (diànhuàkǎ)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Czech SIM karta
  • SIM kartasmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Dutch simkaart
  • simkaartsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Esperanto SIM-karto
  • SIM-kartosmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Estonian SIM-kaart
  • SIM-kaartsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Finnish SIM-kortti
  • SIM-korttismall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
French carte SIM
  • carte SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
German SIM-Karte
  • SIM-Kartesmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Greek κάρτα SIM
  • κάρτα SIM (kárta SIM)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Hebrew כרטיס סים, כרטיס SIM
  • כרטיס סים (kartís sim)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • כרטיס SIM (kartís SIM)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Hindi सिम कार्ड
  • सिम कार्ड (sim kārḍ)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Hungarian SIM-kártya
  • SIM-kártyasmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Icelandic SIM-kort, símkort
  • SIM-kortsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • símkortsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Indonesian kartu SIM
  • kartu SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Irish cárta SIM
  • cárta SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Italian carta SIM, SIM card
  • carta SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • SIM cardsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Japanese SIMカード
  • SIMカード (shimu kādo)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Korean 유심
  • 유심 (yusim)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Latvian SIM karte
  • SIM kartesmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Lithuanian SIM kortelė
  • SIM kortelėsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Persian سیمکارت
  • سیمکارتsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Polish karta SIM
  • karta SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Portuguese cartão SIM, chip
  • cartão SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • chipsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Punjabi ਸਿਮ ਕਾਰਡ
  • ਸਿਮ ਕਾਰਡ (sim kāraḍ)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Russian SIM-ка́рта, си́мка
  • SIM-ка́рта (SIM-kárta)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • си́мка (símka)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Scottish Gaelic cairt SIM
  • cairt SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Spanish tarjeta SIM, chip telefónico
  • tarjeta SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • chip telefónicosmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • chip celularsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • chip móvilsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Swahili kadi ya SIM, kadiwia
  • kadi ya SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
  • kadiwiasmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Swedish sim-kort
  • sim-kortsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Thai ซิมการ์ด
  • ซิมการ์ด (sim-gáat)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Turkish Simkart
  • Simkartsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Ukrainian SIM-карта
  • SIM-карта (SIM-karta)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Urdu سم کارڈ
  • سم کارڈ (sim kārḍ)small, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Vietnamese thẻ SIM
  • thẻ SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Welsh cerdyn SIM
  • cerdyn SIMsmall, removable card which stores mobile phone data
Cite this entry
APA

SIM card. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/SIM%20card

MLA

“SIM card.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/SIM%20card. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “SIM card,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/SIM%20card.

Source: SIM card on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.