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 Red Sox have won 14 of 16 and 17 of 22, climbing from last in the American League to within a half-game of the last wild card spot. — CBS News, 13 July 2026

The win moved the Red Sox within a half-game of the third American League wild card spot. — Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 12 July 2026

One of the biggest wild cards in Georgia politics won’t be on the November ballot. — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 11 July 2026

The Marlins are now 52-42 on the season and just a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs for the National League’s top wild card spot with three games left before the All-Star break. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 10 July 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