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

Florida is currently far out of the playoff picture, eight points behind the second wild card, the Boston Bruins. —Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026

The Panthers are eight points back of a wild card spot and need a strong showing early. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2026

Entering this week, the Sharks, with 58 points, were five points behind both the Anaheim Ducks for the second and final wild card spot in the Western Conference and the Seattle Kraken for third place in the Pacific Division. —Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 24 Feb. 2026

Having Morgan back in his comfort zone goes a long way, even if the transition from supporting wild card to goofball lead starts out a bit bumpy. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 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