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
Case in point is the Haryma necklace, where yellow and orange diamonds come to play with garnets and white diamonds to create a shading effect on the necklace and figurative tiger descending a staircase arrangement supported by five imperial topazes, totaling just over 28 carats.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 13 May 2026
It’s set in the remote village of Hope Harbor, near the Demilitarized Zone, where alarmed locals alert the outpost police chief to sightings of a tiger on the outskirts of town.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
Shera was part of the zoo's Great Cats exhibit, which houses lions, tigers and other species.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 8 May 2026
His first-ever opponent, CM Punk, took the stage to challenge him in a virtual wrestling match, where a character resembling Carell in a tiger-print brief and fur coat faced off against CM Punk’s character.
—Charlie Vargas, Daily News, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tiger
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Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 13 May 2026
It’s set in the remote village of Hope Harbor, near the Demilitarized Zone, where alarmed locals alert the outpost police chief to sightings of a tiger on the outskirts of town.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
Shera was part of the zoo's Great Cats exhibit, which houses lions, tigers and other species.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 8 May 2026
His first-ever opponent, CM Punk, took the stage to challenge him in a virtual wrestling match, where a character resembling Carell in a tiger-print brief and fur coat faced off against CM Punk’s character.
—Charlie Vargas, Daily News, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for tiger
Cite this Entry
“Tiger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiger. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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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