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
Even He-Man’s talking pet tiger (Tom Wilton) asks for consent before giving him a lick.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Arriving guests can be greeted by elephants at reception, before taking in tigers, bears, leopards, and hundreds of bird species on game drives.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
He-Man was now a jolly, quip-ready hero, whose best friends were scaredy-cat Cringer (a green-and-yellow tiger who transformed into Battle Cat), and an annoying, hovering magician called Orko.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026
Animal safaris and other human activities, as well as direct conflict with humans, also threaten tigers and other fauna of the park.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tiger
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Arriving guests can be greeted by elephants at reception, before taking in tigers, bears, leopards, and hundreds of bird species on game drives.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026
He-Man was now a jolly, quip-ready hero, whose best friends were scaredy-cat Cringer (a green-and-yellow tiger who transformed into Battle Cat), and an annoying, hovering magician called Orko.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026
Animal safaris and other human activities, as well as direct conflict with humans, also threaten tigers and other fauna of the park.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 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 4 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
