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

ˈwī(-ə)l(d)-ˌkärd 

: 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

McCarthy is the new wild card in this mix, and could very well end up starting in right field over Moniak. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2026

With McCaffrey leading the 49ers in both rushing and receiving, the 49ers went from 6-11 to 12-5, earned a wild card berth in the NFL playoffs. —Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026

The Panthers entered the game in desperation mode, behind the Bruins by nine points for the second wild card. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026

Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers runs the ball during an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. —Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

wild card, playing card with arbitrarily determined value

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wild card

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard