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
Trump’s secondary tariffs have introduced a new wild card, Evercore ISI analyst Sarah Bianchi told clients in March 26 note.
—
Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 1 Apr. 2025
Now, any faltering done by the teams competing for that final wild card spot aids the Panthers as well.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
Minnesota’s grip on the first wild card spot has been loosening because of St. Louis’ wicked run, the club is banged up without Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson-Ek, and the team’s performance has been up-and-down for a while.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
The Mariners fell just short again in 2024, when a late-season surge pushed then to 85-77 but one game short of the final American League wild card berths claimed by Kansas City and Detroit (both 86-76).
—Jack Magruder, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 1 Apr. 2025
Now, any faltering done by the teams competing for that final wild card spot aids the Panthers as well.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2025
Minnesota’s grip on the first wild card spot has been loosening because of St. Louis’ wicked run, the club is banged up without Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson-Ek, and the team’s performance has been up-and-down for a while.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
The Mariners fell just short again in 2024, when a late-season surge pushed then to 85-77 but one game short of the final American League wild card berths claimed by Kansas City and Detroit (both 86-76).
—Jack Magruder, Forbes, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
Cite this Entry
“Wild card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild%20card. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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