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
Unlike solitary hunters such as leopards or tigers, wolves pursue prey that often outweighs them considerably, which means a lone wolf is, in practical terms, an ineffective one.
—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Christian Pulisic Born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, 90 miles from Rocky Balboa’s hometown of Philadelphia, Christian Pulisic chose to serve up some eye-of-the-tiger goodness with his sleeve tattoo.
—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
21 June 2026
Think helicopter moms, tiger moms, and alpha moms.
—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
20 June 2026
The zoo houses more than 100 animals including lions, tigers and capybaras, according to its website.
—
Adela Suliman,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tiger
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Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Christian Pulisic Born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, 90 miles from Rocky Balboa’s hometown of Philadelphia, Christian Pulisic chose to serve up some eye-of-the-tiger goodness with his sleeve tattoo.
—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
21 June 2026
Think helicopter moms, tiger moms, and alpha moms.
—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
20 June 2026
The zoo houses more than 100 animals including lions, tigers and capybaras, according to its website.
—
Adela Suliman,
NBC news,
19 June 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 26 Jun. 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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