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

The Group Picture Six groups of five teams, four games each, and only the six group winners plus one wild card per conference advance. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Iran wild card Trump could restart the war against Iran after holding off on any major strikes leading up to the midterms, a move that could upend the overall market and cause energy stocks to outperform. — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

The electorate is volatile, said Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan, and there are always wild cards. — Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

Each team plays four group games, home and road, and the six group winners plus one wild card per conference advance. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 29 Oct. 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