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
: 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
Bichette would have been ruled out for a wild card series and the latest update on his health wasn’t ideal, as he was seen limping.
—
Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Roki Sasaki could be a wild card.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
From 1995 through 2011, three division winners and a wild card made the postseason.
—Zach Powell, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Cleveland and Detroit are tied atop the AL Central, with Guardians owning ghe tiebreaker but Tigers assured a wild card.
—Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
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Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Roki Sasaki could be a wild card.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
From 1995 through 2011, three division winners and a wild card made the postseason.
—Zach Powell, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Cleveland and Detroit are tied atop the AL Central, with Guardians owning ghe tiebreaker but Tigers assured a wild card.
—Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wild card
Cite this Entry
“Wild card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild%20card. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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