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
There’s also a tiger, a very important tiger, that needs to be saved.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Having tempered his tiger blood ways, Sheen opens up for the documentary, which also speaks to family, friends and cast members including Denise Richards, Heidi Fleiss, Jon Cryer, Sean Penn, Ramon Estevez, Brooke Mueller, Chris Tucker and even Sheen’s drug dealer Marco.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
And the stereotypes that form our understanding of the drug trade in Mexico — corrupt cops, narcos who keep tigers as pets, sicarios who kill for fun — often fall apart under closer examination.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
But this isn’t an ordinary mystery case, and the kids’ investigations lead them to a magical bag, a talking tiger librarian, and a world where all the stories ever told are true.
—Caroline Carlson
august 1, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiger
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Having tempered his tiger blood ways, Sheen opens up for the documentary, which also speaks to family, friends and cast members including Denise Richards, Heidi Fleiss, Jon Cryer, Sean Penn, Ramon Estevez, Brooke Mueller, Chris Tucker and even Sheen’s drug dealer Marco.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 13 Aug. 2025
And the stereotypes that form our understanding of the drug trade in Mexico — corrupt cops, narcos who keep tigers as pets, sicarios who kill for fun — often fall apart under closer examination.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
But this isn’t an ordinary mystery case, and the kids’ investigations lead them to a magical bag, a talking tiger librarian, and a world where all the stories ever told are true.
—Caroline Carlson
august 1, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiger
Cite this Entry
“Tiger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiger. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.
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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