Illustration of tiger
- tiger 1a
plural tigers
1
plural also tiger
a
: a large Asian carnivorous mammal (Panthera tigris) of the cat family having a usually tawny coat transversely striped with black
b
: any of several large wildcats (such as the jaguar or cougar)
c
: a domestic cat with striped pattern
d
Australia
: tasmanian tiger
2
a
: a fierce, daring, or aggressive person or quality
aroused the tiger in him
a tiger for work
b
: someone or something (such as a situation) that is formidable or impossible to control
how the tiger of inflation can be tamed—
J. A. Davenport
—often used in the phrases ride a tiger and have a tiger by the tail
J. A. Davenport3
British
: a groom in livery
tigerishly
adverb
tigerishness
noun
Examples of tiger in a Sentence
He was a tiger on the basketball court.
even the best defense can't keep that tiger from scoring
Recent Examples on the Web
Near the coast, in the Safari's final miles, there will be sting rays, as well as tiger and bull sharks.
—Morgan O'Hanlon, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2025
Related Articles While these designers might be looking to adolescence — from drawing on upbringings spent among lions and tigers in South Africa to fighting against the constrictions of adulthood by refusing to grow up — there’s no Peter Pan syndrome here.
—Violet Goldstone, Footwear News, 5 June 2025
Guesses ranged from great whites to sand tigers to makos.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
The first word in an organism’s name is its genus, which is a group of related species, such as Panthera for lions, tigers and leopards.
—Nicholas Green, The Conversation, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiger
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Morgan O'Hanlon, Travel + Leisure, 7 June 2025
Related Articles While these designers might be looking to adolescence — from drawing on upbringings spent among lions and tigers in South Africa to fighting against the constrictions of adulthood by refusing to grow up — there’s no Peter Pan syndrome here.
—Violet Goldstone, Footwear News, 5 June 2025
Guesses ranged from great whites to sand tigers to makos.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
The first word in an organism’s name is its genus, which is a group of related species, such as Panthera for lions, tigers and leopards.
—Nicholas Green, The Conversation, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiger
Cite this Entry
“Tiger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiger. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tiger
noun
ti·ger
ˈtī-gər 
plural tigers also tiger
1
: a large Asian flesh-eating mammal of the same family as the domestic cat with a coat that is typically light brown to orange with mostly vertical black stripes
2
: any of several large wildcats (as the jaguar or cougar)
3
: a domestic cat with a striped coat
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