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
As things currently stand, the Cubs are in line for the top wild card spot and would host that three-game series at home at Wrigley Field.
—
Jared Wyllys, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The Giants, as a collective, lost 3-2, wasting an opportunity to gain ground on the Mets for the final NL wild card spot as their five-game winning streak was snapped.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2025
If all of these decisions work out -- and Miami avoids major injuries to key players -- there’s enough talent on this team to be a wild card contender.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Sakurai's sprawling cast includes actors (Noah Centineo, David Dastmalchian), professional wrestlers (Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns), musicians (50 Cent, Orville Peck), comics (Kyle Mooney, Andrew Schulz), and more wild cards.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Jared Wyllys, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The Giants, as a collective, lost 3-2, wasting an opportunity to gain ground on the Mets for the final NL wild card spot as their five-game winning streak was snapped.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2025
If all of these decisions work out -- and Miami avoids major injuries to key players -- there’s enough talent on this team to be a wild card contender.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Sakurai's sprawling cast includes actors (Noah Centineo, David Dastmalchian), professional wrestlers (Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns), musicians (50 Cent, Orville Peck), comics (Kyle Mooney, Andrew Schulz), and more wild cards.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 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 10 Sep. 2025.
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