any of a set of (usually 78) cards that include 22 cards representing virtues and vices and death and fortune etc.; used for playing card games and for divination by fortunetellers
"She spread the tarot cards across the table to begin her reading."
A card game played in various different variations.
"They gathered around the table to play a quick round of tarot before dinner."
In plain English: Tarot is a deck of cards often used for fortune-telling and self-reflection through interpreting their images.
"She decided to read her future with tarot cards before making such an important decision."
Usage: While often associated with fortune-telling, tarot originally refers to the specific 78-card deck used in trick-taking games like Tarocchini and Belote before its modern divination applications became popular. When discussing the cards themselves rather than a reading session, use "tarot" as an adjective (e.g., "a tarot spread") or specify the game context if referring to historical play styles.
The word tarot comes from the French term tarot, which itself was borrowed from the Italian tarocco. This name originally referred to a specific type of playing card game before entering English usage.