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
New England Patriots The Patriots, after a busy offseason, are in prime position to also compete for a wild card spot.
—
Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025
Algorithmic volatility is another wild card—just look at the 2010 Flash Crash when high-frequency trading erased nearly $1 trillion in minutes.
—Roomy Khan, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
The tournament sparked a wave of excitement when it was announced that Venus Williams, sister of Serena Williams, had received a wild card entry to play last month.
—Andrew Torgan, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
That’s why each month our Feel-Good Food Plan—with delicious recipes and a few wild cards—is hosted by someone new.
—Urmila Ramakrishnan, Bon Appétit, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025
Algorithmic volatility is another wild card—just look at the 2010 Flash Crash when high-frequency trading erased nearly $1 trillion in minutes.
—Roomy Khan, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
The tournament sparked a wave of excitement when it was announced that Venus Williams, sister of Serena Williams, had received a wild card entry to play last month.
—Andrew Torgan, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
That’s why each month our Feel-Good Food Plan—with delicious recipes and a few wild cards—is hosted by someone new.
—Urmila Ramakrishnan, Bon Appétit, 1 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 28 Mar. 2025.
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