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
See six statues of panthers and three statues of tigers.
—Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026
The sprawling complex is home to 150,000 animals of 2,000 species, including elephants, tigers, lions and bears – but no hippos.
—Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 1 May 2026
Since announcing its project to bring back the woolly mammoth in 2021, Colossal Biosciences has announced plans to de-extinct two birds, the dodo and the moa, the Australian thylacine or Tasmanian tiger and the dire wolf.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
Its success spawned the creation of the Masters of the Universe franchise, which includes the villain Skeletor, the fighting tiger Battle Cat and He-Man’s sister, She-Ra, another one of Sweet’s designs.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tiger
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Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026
The sprawling complex is home to 150,000 animals of 2,000 species, including elephants, tigers, lions and bears – but no hippos.
—Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 1 May 2026
Since announcing its project to bring back the woolly mammoth in 2021, Colossal Biosciences has announced plans to de-extinct two birds, the dodo and the moa, the Australian thylacine or Tasmanian tiger and the dire wolf.
—Mike Snider, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
Its success spawned the creation of the Masters of the Universe franchise, which includes the villain Skeletor, the fighting tiger Battle Cat and He-Man’s sister, She-Ra, another one of Sweet’s designs.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 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 8 May. 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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