wild card
noun
1
: an unknown or unpredictable factor
2
: one picked to fill a leftover playoff or tournament berth after regularly qualifying competitors have all been determined
3
usually wildcard
: a symbol (such as ? or *) used in a keyword database search to represent the presence of zero, one, or more than one unspecified characters
Examples of wild card in a Sentence
The joker is a wild card.
Taxes are the wild card in this election.
The team made it into the play-offs as the wild card.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jacobs has played in just one career playoff game — a 2021 wild card loss as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders — and hopes to change that this postseason.
—
Rob Reischel, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
That will happen regardless of whether the Commanders move past their NFC wild card tussle with the Buccaneers or not.
—Larry Holder, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
One wild card in the case may be the position of President-elect Donald Trump, who once unequivocally supported banning TikTok in the U.S.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2025
The Cleveland Browns, who own the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still rostered, so perhaps there is a chance Sanders will fall to the G-Men anyway.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for wild card 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rob Reischel, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
That will happen regardless of whether the Commanders move past their NFC wild card tussle with the Buccaneers or not.
—Larry Holder, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
One wild card in the case may be the position of President-elect Donald Trump, who once unequivocally supported banning TikTok in the U.S.
—Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 10 Jan. 2025
The Cleveland Browns, who own the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still rostered, so perhaps there is a chance Sanders will fall to the G-Men anyway.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for wild card
Articles Related to wild card
Dictionary Entries Near wild card
Cite this Entry
“Wild card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild%20card. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share